IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 8.3% – What’s Next?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s share price rose 8.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $24.00 and last traded at $22.40. Approximately 14,780,361 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 15,372,879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on IONQ shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson upgraded IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, IonQ currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $44.80.

IonQ Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $29.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.81. The firm has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of -28.09 and a beta of 2.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 11,712 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.57, for a total transaction of $217,491.84. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 944,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,539,550.70. This trade represents a 1.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 20,047 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.57, for a total transaction of $372,272.79. Following the sale, the executive now owns 572,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,632,587.76. This trade represents a 3.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,033,166 shares of company stock worth $38,059,593. 11.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in IonQ by 4,683.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 54,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 53,200 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new position in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at $316,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in IonQ by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 362,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,146,000 after buying an additional 82,499 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in IonQ in the 4th quarter worth about $7,081,000. Finally, Virtus Fund Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in IonQ in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.