Invesco Ltd. Sells 698,938 Shares of IonQ, Inc. $IONQ

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has significantly reduced its stake in IonQ by 81.5%, selling approximately 698,938 shares and leaving it with only 158,140 shares valued at about $3.49 million.
• Insider transactions saw Peter Hume Chapman selling over 3.58 million shares for approximately $136.6 million, reflecting a significant 90.17% decrease in his holdings.
• Analysts remain optimistic, with multiple firms assigning a "buy" rating and price targets ranging from $30 to $70, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Invesco Ltd. cut its holdings in IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Free Report) by 81.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 158,140 shares of the company's stock after selling 698,938 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.07% of IonQ worth $3,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IONQ. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new position in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,519,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in IonQ by 255.8% in 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. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in IonQ by 101.4% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 927,760 shares of the company's stock worth $20,476,000 after purchasing an additional 467,084 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in IonQ by 700.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 476,017 shares of the company's stock worth $19,883,000 after purchasing an additional 416,517 shares during the period. Finally, UNICOM Systems Inc. raised its holdings in IonQ by 77.4% in the first quarter. UNICOM Systems Inc. now owns 768,900 shares of the company's stock worth $16,970,000 after purchasing an additional 335,429 shares during the period. 41.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on IONQ. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. B. Riley started coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $61.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of IonQ from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 6,789 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.14, for a total transaction of $292,877.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 60,839 shares in the company, valued at $2,624,594.46. This represents a 10.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 17,776 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.28, for a total transaction of $733,793.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 537,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,203,686.40. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,209,626 shares of company stock valued at $361,253,723. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

IonQ Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE IONQ traded down $0.55 during trading on Monday, reaching $42.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,478,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,702,028. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.27 and a beta of 2.54. IonQ, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.54 and a 12 month high of $54.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.31.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 67.11%. The company had revenue of $20.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. IonQ's revenue for the quarter was up 81.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IonQ Company Profile

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.