IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Down 3.7% – Here’s What Happened

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares traded down 3.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $64.18 and last traded at $65.68. 40,008,347 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 50% from the average session volume of 26,645,986 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on IONQ. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of IonQ from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $85.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $48.50 price objective on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Northland Securities initiated coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Monday, April 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of IonQ from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.63.

IonQ Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $21.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -203.53 and a beta of 3.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.17 and a 200-day moving average of $44.19.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by ($0.08). IonQ had a negative return on equity of 23.20% and a net margin of 174.88%.The firm had revenue of $64.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.75 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.14) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 754.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other IonQ news, insider John W. Raymond sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.34, for a total transaction of $93,352.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 83,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,799,326.42. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Robert T. Cardillo sold 3,773 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total transaction of $188,272.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 139,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,984,353.30. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IONQ. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 485.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. acquired a new position in IonQ during the third quarter worth $31,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its position in IonQ by 117.4% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC raised its position in IonQ by 171.8% during the fourth quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in IonQ in the third quarter valued at $36,000. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

IonQ Company Profile

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.