IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 7.9% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell 7.9% on Wednesday to $35.42 (intraday low $33.63) on ~31.98 million shares traded, about 52% above average volume.
• Analysts are mixed but overall rate the stock a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $75.91 (9 Buys, 6 Holds, 1 Sell), even though the stock sits well below its 50‑day ($48.21) and 200‑day ($51.39) moving averages.
• IonQ missed EPS expectations in its latest quarter at ($3.58) vs. ($0.44) est., while revenue surged 221.5% YoY to $39.87 million; insiders sold roughly 125,000 shares (~$6.0M) last quarter and own 5.2% of the company.

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) were down 7.9% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $33.63 and last traded at $35.42. Approximately 31,984,991 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 52% from the average daily volume of 21,003,092 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IONQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush started coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on IonQ from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. DA Davidson increased their target price on IonQ from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research upgraded IonQ from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.91.

IonQ Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $12.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.62 and a beta of 2.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.21 and a 200-day moving average of $51.39.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($3.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($3.14). The company had revenue of $39.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.99 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 127.06% and a negative net margin of 1,836.32%.IonQ's quarterly revenue was up 221.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.24) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In other news, Director William J. Teuber, Jr. acquired 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $54.81 per share, with a total value of $109,620.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $351,496.53. The trade was a 45.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total transaction of $1,028,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 60,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,127,124.60. The trade was a 24.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 125,000 shares of company stock worth $5,992,000. Insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONQ. Amazon Com Inc. bought a new position in shares of IonQ during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,705,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $806,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in IonQ during the second quarter worth approximately $6,104,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in IonQ during the second quarter worth approximately $114,767,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of IonQ by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 47,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,924,000 after acquiring an additional 17,215 shares during the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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. It also provides contracts associated with the design, development, and construction of specialized quantum computing hardware systems; maintenance and support services; and consulting services related to co-developing algorithms on quantum computing systems.

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