IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Cut to "Neutral" at DA Davidson

Key Points

• IonQ has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "neutral" rating by DA Davidson, with a new price target set at $35.00, indicating a potential downside of approximately 14.89%.
• Despite the downgrade, IonQ has received multiple "buy" ratings from other analysts, with a consensus target price of $45.00, suggesting a general confidence in the stock's long-term performance.
• The company reported disappointing earnings, missing estimates with a loss of ($0.70) per share, while its revenue of $20.69 million exceeded expectations, showing an 81.6% increase year-over-year.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at DA Davidson from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They currently have a $35.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson's target price suggests a potential downside of 14.89% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of IonQ in a research note on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities began coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, IonQ currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.00.

IonQ Stock Performance

Shares of IONQ opened at $41.12 on Thursday. IonQ has a twelve month low of $6.54 and a twelve month high of $54.74. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $41.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.36. The firm has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.60 and a beta of 2.54.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.70) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.57). The company had revenue of $20.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.23 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 753.20% and a negative return on equity of 63.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 81.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that IonQ will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 3,581,193 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.13, for a total transaction of $136,550,889.09. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Masi Niccolo De sold 2,597,500 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.34, for a total value of $104,783,150.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 711,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,721,555.58. The trade was a 78.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,191,850 shares of company stock valued at $360,519,930. 5.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONQ. Amazon Com Inc. bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,705,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new position in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,519,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in IonQ by 439.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 857,078 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,800,000 after acquiring an additional 698,146 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in IonQ by 475.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 688,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,771,000 after acquiring an additional 569,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in IonQ in the first quarter valued at approximately $12,193,000. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

IonQ Company 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.

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