IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Down 7% – Should You Sell?

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) dropped 7% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $30.89 and last traded at $31.26. Approximately 17,924,242 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 21,155,182 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of IonQ in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of IonQ from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on IonQ from $32.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.91.

IonQ Trading Down 7.0%

The company has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.84 and a beta of 2.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $46.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total value of $1,028,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 60,839 shares in the company, valued at $3,127,124.60. This trade represents a 24.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.89, for a total value of $4,689,000.00. Following the sale, the executive owned 432,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,285,364.24. The trade was a 18.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 125,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,992,000 in the last quarter. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its position in IonQ by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 26,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 6,700 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of IonQ by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 186,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,364,000 after buying an additional 25,622 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter valued at $1,465,000. Finally, Hilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

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. It also provides contracts associated with the design, development, and construction of specialized quantum computing hardware systems; maintenance and support services; and consulting services related to co-developing algorithms on quantum computing systems.