IonQ Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:IONQ)

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 84,052 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 38% compared to the typical volume of 61,072 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other news, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 2,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.72, for a total value of $37,440,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 414,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,756,875.36. This represents a 82.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William F. Scannell purchased 93,066 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $21.81 per share, for a total transaction of $2,029,769.46. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 135,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,945,375.07. This trade represents a 221.69% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,033,166 shares of company stock worth $38,059,593. Insiders own 11.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in IonQ by 6.6% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 323,930 shares of the company's stock worth $7,149,000 after acquiring an additional 20,127 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new position in IonQ in the first quarter worth approximately $1,017,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of IonQ by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 124,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 26,085 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of IonQ by 30.3% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 46,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 10,881 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of IonQ by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 450,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,932,000 after purchasing an additional 87,428 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on IONQ shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of IonQ from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. DA Davidson cut 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. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of IonQ from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of IonQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.33.

IonQ Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IONQ traded down $2.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.34. 27,076,076 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,856,275. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.67. IonQ has a 52-week low of $6.22 and a 52-week high of $54.74. The stock has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.80 and a beta of 2.46.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.14. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. The firm had revenue of $7.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.19) EPS. The company's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that IonQ will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.