IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 1.7% - Should You Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 1.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $44.30 and last traded at $44.30. 5,815,860 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 20,035,048 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONQ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. 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 note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.43.

IonQ Stock Up 3.0%

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $40.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.07. The stock has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a PE ratio of -30.08 and a beta of 2.55.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $7.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.19) earnings per share. IonQ's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 1,497,311 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 390,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,585,836.97. This trade represents a 79.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 6,789 shares of IonQ 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 directly owned 60,839 shares in the company, valued at $2,624,594.46. This represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,144,372 shares of company stock valued at $358,255,229 over the last 90 days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONQ. PDS Planning Inc increased its stake in 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 raised its holdings in IonQ by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 54,479 shares of the company's stock worth $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC grew its position in shares of IonQ by 50.0% during the first quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in IonQ by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.42% of the company's stock.

IonQ Company Profile

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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