IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 44.2% – Should You Sell?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s share price traded down 44.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $26.14 and last traded at $27.66. 70,797,290 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 114% from the average session volume of 33,124,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on IonQ in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.60.

IonQ Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.27. The stock has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.49 and a beta of 2.43.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $12.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.56 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 457.85% and a negative return on equity of 36.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 102.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.22) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.72, for a total transaction of $115,735.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 638,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,488,001.76. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.72, for a total value of $290,661.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 926,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,524,108.08. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 110,223 shares of company stock worth $2,286,983. 11.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IONQ. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 16.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 916,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,443,000 after acquiring an additional 131,439 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in IonQ by 40.6% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 7,744 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 13.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 295,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,080,000 after buying an additional 35,158 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 3.6% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 1,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of IonQ by 4,824.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 6,368 shares during the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently 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.