13,100 Shares in IonQ, Inc. $IONQ Bought by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems established a new position in IonQ, buying 13,100 shares in the third quarter worth about $806,000, and institutional/hedge funds now own roughly 41.4% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is a Hold with an average target of $72.08, though firms like Jefferies and B. Riley have issued Buy ratings with $100 targets.
• IonQ reported Q3 revenue of $39.87 million (up 221.5% year-over-year) but posted a large EPS loss of $(3.58) versus a $(0.44) estimate; the stock recently traded around $46.79 with a market cap near $16.26 billion.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 13,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $806,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of IonQ by 4,301.9% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,666 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 4,560 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in IonQ in the 1st quarter valued at about $202,000. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in IonQ by 2,525.8% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,151 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 3,031 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in IonQ by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 134,176 shares of the company's stock worth $2,962,000 after buying an additional 14,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi purchased a new stake in IonQ during the 1st quarter worth approximately $630,000. 41.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IONQ. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on IonQ in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised IonQ from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of IonQ from $75.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Wedbush started coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.08.

IonQ Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of NYSE:IONQ opened at $46.79 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $50.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.69. The stock has a market cap of $16.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.75 and a beta of 2.63. IonQ, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.88 and a 52-week high of $84.64.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($3.58) EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $26.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.24) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 221.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other IonQ news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total value of $1,028,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 60,839 shares in the company, valued at $3,127,124.60. The trade was a 24.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William J. Teuber, Jr. purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $54.81 per share, with a total value of $109,620.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $351,496.53. The trade was a 45.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 125,000 shares of company stock worth $5,992,000 in the last ninety days. 5.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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