IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Down 2.2% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• IonQ shares fell 2.2% on Wednesday, trading as low as $34.66 after closing at $35.51 the prior day, with volume below average.
• Analysts remain broadly positive despite the pullback: the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.88, with several firms recently raising targets.
• Recent earnings showed mixed results, as IonQ missed EPS estimates but beat revenue expectations, reporting $64.67 million in quarterly revenue, up 754.7% year over year.

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) dropped 2.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $34.66 and last traded at $34.7180. Approximately 14,791,013 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 25,772,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on IONQ shares. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $48.50 target price on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of IonQ from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Northland Securities increased their price target on IonQ from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded IonQ from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.88.

IonQ Trading Down 2.2%

The company's 50 day moving average price is $53.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.39. The stock has a market cap of $12.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -123.99 and a beta of 3.23.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by ($0.08). IonQ had a net margin of 174.88% and a negative return on equity of 23.20%. The business had revenue of $64.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.14) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 754.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 2,757 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,444,692.16. The trade was a 4.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gabrielle B. Toledano sold 2,757 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total value of $151,662.57. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at $613,581.54. This trade represents a 19.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,102 shares of company stock worth $701,489. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,774,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,560,343,000 after acquiring an additional 5,420,037 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in IonQ by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,962,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $402,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,663,230 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of IonQ by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,074,301 shares of the company's stock worth $361,624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452,463 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter worth approximately $199,753,000. Finally, Marex Group plc increased its stake in shares of IonQ by 419.1% in the fourth quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 4,083,453 shares of the company's stock worth $183,225,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,866 shares in the last quarter. 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. 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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