IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 0.5% – What’s Next?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares shot up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $40.60 and last traded at $39.04. 6,541,976 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 38,325,156 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on IONQ. Craig Hallum raised their target price on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson started coverage on IonQ in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

IonQ Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.22 and a 200-day moving average of $20.67. The firm has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.86 and a beta of 2.43.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.02). IonQ had a negative net margin of 457.85% and a negative return on equity of 36.82%. The company had revenue of $12.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.22) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 102.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 21,337 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $634,349.01. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 571,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,985,373.33. This trade represents a 3.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.72, for a total transaction of $290,661.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 926,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,524,108.08. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,223 shares of company stock valued at $1,314,652. 11.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IONQ. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in IonQ during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in IonQ during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. City State Bank acquired a new stake in IonQ during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hemington Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of IonQ by 1,348.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About IonQ

IonQ, Inc engages in the development of general-purpose quantum computing systems in the United States. It sells access to quantum computers of various qubit capacities. The company makes access to its quantum computers through cloud platforms, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) Amazon Braket, Microsoft’s Azure Quantum, and Google’s Cloud Marketplace, as well as through its cloud service.