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

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $25.55, but opened at $26.73. IonQ shares last traded at $25.46, with a volume of 12,522,161 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson upgraded shares of IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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 reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Craig Hallum boosted their price target on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.80.

IonQ Trading Down 0.3 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $32.32 and a 200-day moving average of $26.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.09 and a beta of 2.50.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In other IonQ news, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 11,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.57, for a total transaction of $217,491.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 944,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,539,550.70. This represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William F. Scannell purchased 93,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.81 per share, for a total transaction of $2,029,769.46. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 135,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,945,375.07. This trade represents a 221.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 2,033,166 shares of company stock worth $38,059,593 over the last ninety days. 11.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in shares of IonQ by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 11,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 54,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,276,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of IonQ by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of IonQ by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in IonQ by 421.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 501 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.