Norges Bank Makes New Investment in IonQ, Inc. $IONQ

Key Points

• Norges Bank established a new position in IonQ by purchasing 2,670,872 shares in Q2 (~$114.8M), representing about 1.02% of the company at quarter-end.
• IonQ reported strong revenue growth (+221.5% YoY to $39.87M) but still posted deep losses (EPS -$3.58 vs. -$0.44 estimate) and negative margins/ROE, while analysts remain mixed with a consensus "Hold" rating and a $66 average price target.

Norges Bank bought a new position in IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 2,670,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $114,767,000. Norges Bank owned 1.02% of IonQ at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of IONQ. Archer Investment Corp lifted its holdings in IonQ by 119.3% in the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 592 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of IonQ during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of IonQ by 2,034.0% in the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,003 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in shares of IonQ by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 41.42% of the company's stock.

IonQ Stock Performance

Shares of IONQ stock opened at $48.68 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.10 and a beta of 2.62. IonQ, Inc. has a one year low of $17.88 and a one year high of $84.64. The company's 50-day moving average is $59.08 and its 200 day moving average is $49.23.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($3.58) earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $39.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 221.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on IonQ in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of IonQ from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other IonQ news, Director William J. Teuber, Jr. acquired 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $54.81 per share, with a total value of $109,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $351,496.53. This represents a 45.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert T. Cardillo sold 8,773 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.52, for a total value of $443,211.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 37,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,891,266.72. The trade was a 18.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 149,044 shares of company stock worth $6,920,244. Insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

IonQ 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IONQ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.