IonQ, Inc. $IONQ Stock Holdings Increased by FORA Capital LLC

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC has significantly increased its stake in IonQ, Inc. by 220% in the first quarter, owning 229,479 shares valued at approximately $5.07 million.
• A number of institutional investors, including ORG Partners LLC and Farther Finance Advisors LLC, have also ramped up their positions, reflecting growing interest in the company.
• Despite a revenue increase of 81.6% year-over-year, IonQ reported a quarterly loss of ($0.70) EPS, falling short of analysts' expectations.

FORA Capital LLC boosted its position in IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Free Report) by 220.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 229,479 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 157,758 shares during the quarter. FORA Capital LLC owned about 0.10% of IonQ worth $5,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter worth about $29,519,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in IonQ by 475.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 688,764 shares of the company's stock worth $28,771,000 after acquiring an additional 569,061 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in IonQ in the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,193,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in IonQ by 255.8% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 761,066 shares of the company's stock worth $16,797,000 after acquiring an additional 547,155 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in IonQ by 101.4% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 927,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,476,000 after acquiring an additional 467,084 shares during the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONQ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities started coverage on IonQ in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. They set a "buy" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of IonQ in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of IonQ from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, IonQ currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.78.

IonQ Trading Up 4.5%

Shares of IONQ traded up $1.85 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $43.27. 15,986,975 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,399,588. IonQ, Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.54 and a 1-year high of $54.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.31.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.70) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.57). IonQ had a negative net margin of 885.21% and a negative return on equity of 67.11%. The firm had revenue of $20.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 81.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In related news, CEO Masi Niccolo De sold 2,597,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.34, for a total transaction of $104,783,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 711,987 shares in the company, valued at $28,721,555.58. This trade represents a 78.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 3,581,193 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.13, for a total transaction of $136,550,889.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 390,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,883,244.77. The trade was a 90.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,209,626 shares of company stock worth $361,253,723. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.