IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Down 5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• IonQ's stock price fell by 5%, trading as low as $37.88, with a dramatic decline in trading volume of 72% compared to the average.
• Despite the stock's drop, several analysts maintain positive outlooks, with a consensus price target of $45.00 and a "Moderate Buy" rating.
• IonQ reported a net margin of -885.21% for the quarter, missing earnings expectations, although revenue increased by 81.6% year-over-year.

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $37.88 and last traded at $38.20. Approximately 6,299,419 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 22,750,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on IONQ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Benchmark boosted their price target on IonQ from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of IonQ in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Oppenheimer began coverage on IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, IonQ has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.00.

IonQ Trading Down 7.6%

The company has a market cap of $11.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.50 and a beta of 2.54. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $41.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.35.

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

Insider Activity at IonQ

In other news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 6,789 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.14, for a total transaction of $292,877.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 60,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,624,594.46. The trade was a 10.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 17,776 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.28, for a total transaction of $733,793.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 537,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,203,686.40. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,209,626 shares of company stock valued at $361,253,723. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in IonQ by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,446 shares of the company's stock worth $1,064,257,000 after purchasing an additional 3,269,482 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of IonQ by 15.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,338,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $229,422,000 after buying an additional 705,301 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of IonQ by 15.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,255,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,837,000 after buying an additional 688,663 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of IonQ by 648.5% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,674,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,917,000 after buying an additional 2,317,058 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of IonQ during the second quarter valued at about $114,767,000. 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.

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