IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Up 7.2% - Here's Why

Key Points

• IonQ's stock price surged by 7.2% to $59.44 after reaching a high of $62.93, with trading volume increasing by 166% compared to its average.
• Analysts have varying ratings for IonQ, with Cantor Fitzgerald upgrading their target to $60 and Rosenblatt Securities setting a target of $70, while DA Davidson downgraded to a target of $35.
• Despite a revenue increase of 81.6% year-over-year, IonQ reported a significant loss with an EPS of ($0.70), missing forecasts and indicating a negative net margin.

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) rose 7.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $62.93 and last traded at $59.44. Approximately 65,198,946 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 166% from the average daily volume of 24,483,912 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on IONQ shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of IonQ from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research note on Monday, September 15th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of IonQ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.33.

IonQ Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $57.05 and its 200-day moving average is $43.89. The firm has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.57 and a beta of 2.60.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In related news, insider Robert T. Cardillo sold 8,773 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.52, for a total transaction of $443,211.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 37,436 shares in the company, valued at $1,891,266.72. This represents a 18.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Masi Niccolo De sold 16,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total transaction of $715,728.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,181,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,444,658.40. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,398 shares of company stock worth $5,665,690 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONQ. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in IonQ by 780.1% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,461 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in IonQ by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in IonQ by 60.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 4,818 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in IonQ by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 27,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 6,717 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in IonQ by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 160,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,533,000 after purchasing an additional 47,937 shares during the period. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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.