Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 54,797 Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in IonQ, Inc. by 237.6%, owning 77,856 shares worth approximately $1.72 million after adding 54,797 shares in the first quarter.
• Other institutional investors, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Invesco Ltd., and Ameriprise Financial, also significantly increased their positions in IonQ during the fourth quarter, indicating growing interest in the company.
• IonQ's recent earnings report showed a loss per share of ($0.14), exceeding expectations, while its revenue of $7.57 million surpassed analyst predictions of $7.51 million.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Free Report) by 237.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,856 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 54,797 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in IonQ were worth $1,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in shares of IonQ during the 4th quarter worth about $1,255,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of IonQ by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 131,846 shares of the company's stock worth $5,507,000 after purchasing an additional 10,982 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of IonQ by 1,310.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,468,160 shares of the company's stock worth $103,095,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293,231 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL bought a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 4th quarter worth about $260,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 4th quarter worth about $6,097,000. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IonQ Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE IONQ traded down $0.02 on Thursday, hitting $39.86. 21,403,880 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,382,410. The company has a market cap of $10.43 billion, a PE ratio of -26.75 and a beta of 2.55. IonQ, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.22 and a 12 month high of $54.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.08 and a 200-day moving average of $34.19.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $7.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 753.20% and a negative return on equity of 63.35%. IonQ's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.19) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other IonQ news, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 3,581,193 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.13, for a total value of $136,550,889.09. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 390,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,883,244.77. This trade represents a 90.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 216,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.11, for a total transaction of $8,231,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 718,516 shares in the company, valued at $27,382,644.76. This trade represents a 23.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,191,850 shares of company stock valued at $360,519,930 over the last ninety days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on IONQ. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.00.

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.