IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $39.02, but opened at $42.54. IonQ shares last traded at $40.39, with a volume of 14,259,328 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IONQ. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on IonQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on IonQ from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Benchmark decreased their price target on IonQ from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on IonQ from $50.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.33.

IonQ Trading Up 2.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a PE ratio of -49.32 and a beta of 2.59. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $31.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.12.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.14. IonQ had a negative net margin of 457.85% and a negative return on equity of 36.82%. The business had revenue of $7.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.19) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In related news, Director William F. Scannell purchased 93,066 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.81 per share, with a total value of $2,029,769.46. Following the purchase, the director now owns 135,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,945,375.07. The trade was a 221.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.72, for a total transaction of $37,440,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 414,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,756,875.36. This represents a 82.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,031,759 shares of company stock valued at $38,029,765 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 11,829 shares of the company's stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in shares of IonQ by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 54,479 shares of the company's stock worth $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of IonQ by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC raised its holdings in IonQ by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its stake in IonQ by 2.5% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 20,500 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during 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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