IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 2.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• IonQ's share price declined by 2.4%, trading as low as $39.42 before closing at $40.06, significantly below its average volume in trading.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on IonQ, with ratings ranging from a recent downgrade to "neutral" by DA Davidson and a "buy" rating with a price target increase by Benchmark.
• IonQ's quarterly earnings reported a loss of ($0.70) per share, missing estimates, despite a significant revenue increase of 81.6% year-over-year to $20.69 million.

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 2.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $39.42 and last traded at $40.06. 4,352,822 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 22,926,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson downgraded IonQ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Benchmark lifted their price objective on IonQ from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed 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. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities started 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.00.

IonQ Stock Down 2.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.98 and a beta of 2.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.70 and a 200-day moving average of $34.40.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). IonQ had a negative net margin of 885.21% and a negative return on equity of 67.11%. The company had revenue of $20.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 81.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 3,581,193 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 390,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,883,244.77. This represents a 90.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 216,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.11, for a total value of $8,231,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 718,516 shares in the company, valued at $27,382,644.76. The trade was a 23.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,209,626 shares of company stock valued at $361,253,723 over the last 90 days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massar Capital Management LP bought a new stake in IonQ during the second quarter valued at approximately $602,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in IonQ by 5.1% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 13,332 shares of the company's stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Letson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in IonQ in the 2nd quarter worth $529,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the 2nd quarter valued at about $494,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ during the second quarter valued at approximately $810,000. Hedge funds and other 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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