IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 8.2% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• IonQ shares rose 8.2% to $44.95 in Friday trading, giving the quantum-computing company a market capitalization of approximately $17.13 billion.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $69.92, although some firms maintain sell or strong-sell ratings.
• IonQ’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: revenue reached $80.05 million, up 286.7% year over year, while its adjusted loss of $0.33 per share was narrower than the expected $0.56 loss. However, the company remains unprofitable, with a negative net margin of 553.27%.

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) traded up 8.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $45.46 and last traded at $44.95. Approximately 19,465,208 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 25,055,043 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of IonQ in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of IonQ from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.92.

IonQ Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $44.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.65 and a beta of 3.28.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by $0.23. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 22.29% and a negative net margin of 553.27%.The business had revenue of $80.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.70) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 286.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In other news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 2,757 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $151,690.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 62,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,444,692.16. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John W. Raymond sold 3,815 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total transaction of $209,863.15. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 80,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,408,941.48. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,329 shares of company stock worth $513,216. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IONQ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in IonQ by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,774,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,560,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,420,037 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in IonQ during the 2nd quarter worth $1,112,945,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,962,789 shares of the company's stock worth $402,160,000 after buying an additional 2,663,230 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,074,301 shares of the company's stock worth $361,624,000 after buying an additional 1,452,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the second quarter valued at about $344,757,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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. 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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