Gagnon Securities LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)

Key Points

• Gagnon Securities LLC increased its stake in IonQ by an astounding 1,831.8% during the first quarter, reaching a total of 111,348 shares valued at approximately $2.46 million.
• Several brokerages have issued positive ratings on IonQ, with the average price target set at $45.00 and a majority of analysts rating it as a "Moderate Buy."
• In recent insider trading, significant stock sales by executives have occurred, with insiders selling over 9 million shares worth approximately $360 million in the past 90 days.

Gagnon Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Free Report) by 1,831.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,348 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 105,584 shares during the quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC's holdings in IonQ were worth $2,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in IONQ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of IonQ by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,497,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,460,000 after purchasing an additional 123,839 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in IonQ by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,934,625 shares of the company's stock worth $80,809,000 after acquiring an additional 216,752 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in IonQ by 439.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 857,078 shares of the company's stock worth $35,800,000 after acquiring an additional 698,146 shares during the last quarter. UNICOM Systems Inc. increased its position in IonQ by 77.4% in the 1st quarter. UNICOM Systems Inc. now owns 768,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,970,000 after acquiring an additional 335,429 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 255.8% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 761,066 shares of the company's stock worth $16,797,000 after purchasing an additional 547,155 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson downgraded shares of IonQ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.00.

IonQ Stock Performance

Shares of IONQ stock traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $40.42. 27,903,889 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,698,210. IonQ, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.54 and a fifty-two week high of $54.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.37. The firm has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.11 and a beta of 2.54.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.70) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.57). IonQ had a negative net margin of 885.21% and a negative return on equity of 87.77%. The firm had revenue of $20.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 81.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In other IonQ news, CEO Masi Niccolo De sold 2,597,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.34, for a total transaction of $104,783,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 711,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,721,555.58. The trade was a 78.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 65,000 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total transaction of $2,507,050.00. Following the transaction, the executive owned 552,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,313,473.44. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,191,850 shares of company stock valued at $360,519,930 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.20% 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.