IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading 5.5% Higher – Here’s Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shot up 5.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $49.85 and last traded at $49.4950. 10,291,632 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 24,564,232 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on IONQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on IonQ in a report on Thursday, November 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on IonQ from $32.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on IonQ from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on IonQ from $75.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, IonQ presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.00.

IonQ Trading Up 5.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a PE ratio of -9.25 and a beta of 2.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.71.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($3.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($3.14). IonQ had a negative return on equity of 127.06% and a negative net margin of 1,836.32%.The company had revenue of $39.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.24) earnings per share. IonQ’s revenue for the quarter was up 221.5% compared to the same quarter last year. IonQ has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Robert T. Cardillo sold 8,773 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.52, for a total transaction of $443,211.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 37,436 shares in the company, valued at $1,891,266.72. The trade was a 18.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paul T. Dacier sold 4,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total transaction of $185,370.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 114,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,081,757.60. This represents a 3.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 213,622 shares of company stock valued at $9,620,896. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Advocates LLC grew its holdings in IonQ by 2.9% during the third quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 49,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,060,000 after acquiring an additional 1,409 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in IonQ by 24.7% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in IonQ in the third quarter valued at $1,814,000. WBI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 3rd quarter worth $810,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 950.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the period. 41.42% of the stock is 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.