IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• IonQ's stock experienced a 1% decline, trading at approximately $42.74, with a significant drop in trading volume by 76% compared to its average.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments, with target prices ranging from a low of $30.00 to a high of $55.00, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.43.
• Director Kathryn K. Chou and insider Peter Hume Chapman have recently sold substantial amounts of stock, indicating an insider sell-off, totaling approximately $360 million over the last three months.

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $42.52 and last traded at $42.74. Approximately 5,502,443 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 23,067,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on IONQ shares. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Benchmark boosted 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. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of IonQ from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IonQ currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.43.

IonQ Stock Down 2.1%

The firm's 50-day moving average is $41.70 and its 200-day moving average is $34.04. The company has a market cap of $11.06 billion, a PE ratio of -28.41 and a beta of 2.55.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 6,789 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.14, for a total transaction of $292,877.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 60,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,624,594.46. The trade was a 10.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 1,497,311 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.93, for a total transaction of $59,787,628.23. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 390,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,585,836.97. The trade was a 79.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,191,850 shares of company stock worth $360,519,930 over the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in IonQ by 1,310.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,519,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,513,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of IonQ by 439.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 857,078 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,800,000 after buying an additional 698,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in IonQ by 475.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 688,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,771,000 after purchasing an additional 569,061 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.42% of the company's stock.

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.

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