IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 6.2% - Here's Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) shares shot up 6.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $39.09 and last traded at $38.95. 5,963,828 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 17,983,424 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on IONQ. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of IonQ from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of IonQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of IonQ from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.33.

IonQ Trading Up 6.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.25 and a beta of 2.59. The business's fifty day moving average price is $31.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.08.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.14. IonQ had a negative net margin of 457.85% and a negative return on equity of 36.82%. The company had revenue of $7.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.19) earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In related news, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 2,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.72, for a total transaction of $37,440,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,756,875.36. The trade was a 82.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William F. Scannell acquired 93,066 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.81 per share, with a total value of $2,029,769.46. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 135,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,945,375.07. This trade represents a 221.69% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,031,759 shares of company stock worth $38,029,765 in the last quarter. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 421.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.