IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading 2.3% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) traded up 2.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $49.13 and last traded at $47.34. 34,338,170 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 42% from the average session volume of 24,133,553 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of IonQ from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of IonQ from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $37.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.25.

IonQ Stock Down 2.2%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.14 and a beta of 2.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other IonQ news, insider Robert T. Cardillo sold 5,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.44, for a total transaction of $203,707.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 112,291 shares in the company, valued at $4,428,757.04. This trade represents a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William J. Teuber, Jr. acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $38.38 per share, with a total value of $115,140.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $361,270.94. This trade represents a 46.78% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,581 shares of company stock worth $316,156 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IONQ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of IonQ by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,774,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,420,037 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter worth approximately $199,753,000. Marex Group plc grew its holdings in shares of IonQ by 419.1% in the fourth quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 4,083,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,225,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,866 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of IonQ by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,962,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,663,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Street Group Inc. boosted its holdings in IonQ by 219.6% in the fourth quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. now owns 3,195,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,396,000 after acquiring an additional 2,196,017 shares in the last quarter. 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.