IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Down 3.3% - What's Next?

Key Points

• IonQ's stock price dropped 3.3% to close at $43.48 after trading at a low of $42.63, with trading volume decreasing by 65% from its average.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for IonQ, with a current average target price of $45.00 and several firms issuing both buy and neutral ratings, indicating potential for growth.
• Despite strong revenue growth of 81.6% year-over-year, IonQ reported a significant earnings miss with a loss per share of ($0.70), far worse than the consensus estimate.

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) fell 3.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $42.63 and last traded at $43.48. 8,097,576 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 23,025,111 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONQ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities began coverage on IonQ in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. DA Davidson cut shares of IonQ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.00.

IonQ Stock Down 3.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a PE ratio of -21.52 and a beta of 2.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.27.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.70) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.57). The business had revenue of $20.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.23 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 885.21% and a negative return on equity of 67.11%. IonQ's revenue for the quarter was up 81.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total value of $2,078,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 552,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,518,698.56. This trade represents a 7.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 17,776 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.28, for a total transaction of $733,793.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 537,880 shares in the company, valued at $22,203,686.40. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,209,626 shares of company stock worth $361,253,723. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in IonQ in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,565,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 255,061 shares of the company's stock worth $10,654,000 after acquiring an additional 77,151 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter valued at about $353,000. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $446,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $437,000. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.