IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 14.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares down 14.4% — IonQ fell to about $41 intraday on Thursday on heavy trading (~32.8M shares, ~33% above average), after a prior close of $47.88.
• Q3 earnings miss but revenue beat — IonQ reported a loss of $3.58 per share versus a consensus loss of $0.44 (a large miss), while revenue of $39.9M topped estimates of $27.0M and rose 221.5% year‑over‑year.
• Mixed sentiment and notable insider selling — Analyst ratings are split (7 Buys, 7 Holds, 1 Sell) with a consensus "Hold" and $66 average target; insiders sold ~113.6k shares (~$4.93M) recently even as institutions hold ~41% of the stock, led by increases from Vanguard, Norges Bank and JPMorgan.

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) shares were down 14.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $40.69 and last traded at $40.97. Approximately 32,836,139 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 33% from the average daily volume of 24,615,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of IonQ from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of IonQ from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on IonQ in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.00.

IonQ Stock Down 14.4%

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $62.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.22. The firm has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a PE ratio of -7.66 and a beta of 2.59.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($3.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($3.14). The business had revenue of $39.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.99 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 127.06% and a negative net margin of 1,836.32%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 221.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. IonQ has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other IonQ news, insider Robert T. Cardillo sold 8,773 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.52, for a total transaction of $443,211.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 37,436 shares in the company, valued at $1,891,266.72. This trade represents a 18.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 19,976 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total value of $886,934.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 532,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,648,150.40. The trade was a 3.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 113,622 shares of company stock valued at $4,931,896 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in IonQ by 18.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,354,706 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,805,314,000 after purchasing an additional 4,587,260 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the 2nd quarter worth about $114,767,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of IonQ by 648.5% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,674,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,917,000 after buying an additional 2,317,058 shares in the last quarter. Lansdowne Partners UK LLP lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 286.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lansdowne Partners UK LLP now owns 1,937,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,435,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in IonQ by 19.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,299,559 shares of the company's stock worth $387,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,878 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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