Kestra Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in IonQ, Inc. $IONQ

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC has increased its stake in IonQ, Inc. by 38.1%, now owning 57,918 shares worth approximately $1.28 million.
• IonQ recently received several ratings from analysts, with a consensus of seven "buy" ratings and an average price target of $46.78.
• Insider transactions noted significant sales, including a 45,000-share sale by CRO Rima Alameddine for over $2 million, indicating changes in insider positions within the company.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Free Report) by 38.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,918 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,986 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in IonQ were worth $1,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the first quarter worth $1,782,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the first quarter worth $464,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the first quarter worth $4,434,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 4.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 270,378 shares of the company's stock worth $5,967,000 after purchasing an additional 12,577 shares during the period. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 59.4% in the first quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 84,342 shares of the company's stock worth $1,861,000 after purchasing an additional 31,418 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.42% of the company's stock.

IonQ Price Performance

NYSE IONQ traded up $0.25 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.99. 13,735,605 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,369,389. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.34. IonQ, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.54 and a 12-month high of $54.74. The firm has a market cap of $12.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.39 and a beta of 2.54.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.70) earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $20.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 81.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on IONQ shares. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer started coverage on IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson cut IonQ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other IonQ news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $2,078,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 552,592 shares in the company, valued at $25,518,698.56. This represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 6,789 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.14, for a total transaction of $292,877.46. Following the sale, the director owned 60,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,624,594.46. This represents a 10.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,209,626 shares of company stock valued at $361,253,723. Corporate 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.