Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors Purchases 17,400 Shares of IonQ, Inc. $IONQ

Key Points

• Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors initiated a position in IonQ by purchasing 17,400 shares worth approximately $763,000 during the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 41.42% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive: IonQ has an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $63.33, despite Morgan Stanley lowering its target to $43 and Wall Street Zen issuing a “Strong Sell” downgrade.
• IonQ reported quarterly revenue of $80.05 million, up 286.7% year over year, and narrowed its loss relative to analyst expectations, although the company remains unprofitable with a negative net margin of 553.27%.

Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 17,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $763,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in IonQ by 96.5% during the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 125,556 shares of the company's stock worth $3,620,000 after purchasing an additional 61,656 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in IonQ during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $981,000. Swedbank AB increased its stake in IonQ by 147.7% in the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 149,503 shares of the company's stock worth $4,310,000 after purchasing an additional 89,148 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in IonQ in the 1st quarter worth approximately $663,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in IonQ in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $726,000. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other IonQ news, insider John Raymond sold 2,407 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $89,564.47. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,892,742.61. The trade was a 3.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IONQ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on IonQ from $49.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Northland Securities raised their target price on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of IonQ from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Monday, September 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.33.

IonQ News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting IonQ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: IonQ priced a $2.0 billion equity offering, providing significant additional capital to accelerate commercialization, fund research and development, and pursue strategic opportunities. The financing could strengthen IonQ’s balance sheet despite near-term dilution concerns. IonQ Announces Pricing of $2.0 Billion Equity Offering
• Positive Sentiment: The planned delivery of IonQ’s 256-qubit Superion system in early 2027 offers a potential catalyst. Successful customer deployments could support demand for the company’s quantum hardware and strengthen its commercialization story. Prediction: IonQ Will Cross $100 Per Share in 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt reaffirmed a Buy rating, while Zacks upgraded IonQ to a Rank #2 (Buy), reflecting optimism about future earnings and the company’s long-term position in quantum computing. IonQ Upgraded to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: IonQ agreed to acquire Elisity, a Zero Trust cybersecurity company, for up to $1.3 billion in an all-stock transaction. The deal could diversify IonQ into quantum-era security and add recurring enterprise revenue, but management has not yet provided enough guidance to assess its near-term financial contribution. IonQ to Buy Elisity for Up to $1.3B
• Negative Sentiment: The $2 billion share sale, priced at $40 per share, increases the outstanding share count and reduces existing shareholders’ ownership percentage. Investors also viewed the financing as a sign that IonQ may require substantial capital while it remains unprofitable. IonQ Announces Pricing of $2.0 Billion Equity Offering
• Negative Sentiment: Market skepticism about the Elisity deal, dilution, acquisition integration, and IonQ’s continued heavy losses has pressured the stock, despite record revenue and a growing backlog. Broader weakness across quantum-computing shares has added to the selling pressure. IonQ Slides on Elisity Deal and Dilution Risk

IonQ Trading Up 9.1%

NYSE IONQ opened at $34.29 on Friday. IonQ, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.89 and a fifty-two week high of $73.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.86.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $80.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $66.47 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 22.29% and a negative net margin of 553.27%. The business's revenue was up 286.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.70) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

IonQ Profile

IonQ, Inc is a quantum computing company that develops and commercializes quantum computers based on trapped-ion technology. Its systems are designed to perform specialized computations that may eventually support applications in areas such as optimization, materials science, drug discovery, financial modeling and artificial intelligence.

The company offers access to its quantum processors through cloud platforms, including Amazon Web Services' Amazon Braket, Microsoft Azure Quantum and Google Cloud.

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