IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 1.8% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• IonQ's stock price declined by 1.8%, closing at $39.08, with a notable drop in trading volume, reflecting a 77% decrease from its average daily volume.
• Several research firms have recently issued a "buy" rating for IonQ, with target prices ranging from $45.00 to $70.00, indicating a generally positive outlook from analysts.
• Insider selling has been significant, with over 9 million shares sold by insiders within the last ninety days, suggesting potential concerns about the company’s future prospects.

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 1.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $38.53 and last traded at $39.08. Approximately 5,080,276 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 22,565,605 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONQ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Rosenblatt Securities began coverage on IonQ in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. They set a "buy" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer started coverage on IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of IonQ in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.00.

IonQ Stock Down 1.8%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.23. The company has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.43 and a beta of 2.54.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last posted 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). 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 analyst estimates of $17.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 81.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 17,776 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.28, for a total value of $733,793.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 537,880 shares in the company, valued at $22,203,686.40. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 1,497,311 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.93, for a total transaction of $59,787,628.23. Following the transaction, the insider owned 390,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,585,836.97. This trade represents a 79.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,209,626 shares of company stock valued at $361,253,723. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Archer Investment Corp boosted its stake in shares of IonQ by 119.3% in the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 592 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in IonQ during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new stake in IonQ during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in IonQ by 50.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 831 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in IonQ in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other 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.

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