IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Down 4.4% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• IonQ's stock price dropped by 4.4% during mid-day trading, reaching a low of $37.25 before closing at $38.12, with a significant decline in trading volume.
• Analysts remain divided on IonQ's prospects, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.00, amid recent upgrades and downgrades from various firms.
• Insider trading activity has been notable, with significant sales of shares by executives totaling over $360 million in the last ninety days, affecting corporate ownership dynamics.

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) dropped 4.4% on Friday . The company traded as low as $37.25 and last traded at $38.12. Approximately 8,836,154 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 22,990,947 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONQ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on IonQ in a report on Wednesday. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on IonQ in a report on Wednesday. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on IonQ in a report on Wednesday. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Benchmark raised their target price on IonQ from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.00.

IonQ Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.60 and a beta of 2.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.81 and a 200-day moving average of $34.34.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $7.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 63.35% and a negative net margin of 753.20%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Masi Niccolo De sold 2,597,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.34, for a total transaction of $104,783,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 711,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,721,555.58. This represents a 78.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 216,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.11, for a total value of $8,231,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 718,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,382,644.76. This represents a 23.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,191,850 shares of company stock valued at $360,519,930 over the last 90 days. 5.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sei Investments Co. bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,255,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in IonQ by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 131,846 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,507,000 after buying an additional 10,982 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL bought a new position in IonQ during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in IonQ during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,097,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in IonQ by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 28,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,177,000 after buying an additional 8,194 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.