IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 3.5% After Earnings Miss

Key Points

• IonQ's stock price fell 3.5% following a disappointing earnings report, with earnings per share of ($0.70) missing estimates by ($0.57).
• The company's revenue increased to $20.69 million, surpassing estimates, and showed an 81.6% growth compared to the same quarter last year.
• Despite the earnings miss, analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus rating with a price target averaging $45.00.

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 3.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $38.61 and last traded at $39.81. 13,566,777 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 22,951,100 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.23.

The company reported ($0.70) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.57). IonQ had a negative return on equity of 67.11% and a negative net margin of 885.21%. The company had revenue of $20.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 81.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONQ has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. DA Davidson lowered IonQ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities assumed coverage on IonQ in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IonQ news, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 216,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.11, for a total transaction of $8,231,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 718,516 shares in the company, valued at $27,382,644.76. This trade represents a 23.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 3,581,193 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.13, for a total transaction of $136,550,889.09. Following the transaction, the insider owned 390,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,883,244.77. This represents a 90.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,209,626 shares of company stock valued at $361,253,723 in the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of IonQ by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,497,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,460,000 after acquiring an additional 123,839 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of IonQ by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,338,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $229,422,000 after acquiring an additional 705,301 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of IonQ by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,934,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,809,000 after acquiring an additional 216,752 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of IonQ by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,139,217 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,952,000 after acquiring an additional 294,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of IonQ by 101.4% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 927,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,476,000 after acquiring an additional 467,084 shares during the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

IonQ Trading Up 3.5%

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $41.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.29.

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.