IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 2.1% - Here's Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 2.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $41.80 and last traded at $41.52. Approximately 6,054,327 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 19,922,967 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONQ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of IonQ from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of 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 and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.43.

IonQ Stock Up 3.0%

The company's fifty day moving average is $40.13 and its 200 day moving average is $34.07. The stock has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a PE ratio of -30.08 and a beta of 2.55.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.14. IonQ had a negative net margin of 753.20% and a negative return on equity of 63.35%. The firm had revenue of $7.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.19) earnings per share. IonQ's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 1,497,311 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.93, for a total transaction of $59,787,628.23. Following the sale, the insider owned 390,329 shares in the company, valued at $15,585,836.97. This trade represents a 79.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 45,000 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $2,078,100.00. Following the sale, the executive owned 552,592 shares in the company, valued at $25,518,698.56. This represents a 7.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,144,372 shares of company stock worth $358,255,229. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of IonQ by 1,310.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,468,160 shares of the company's stock worth $103,095,000 after buying an additional 2,293,231 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,255,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of IonQ by 120.0% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 34,033 shares of the company's stock worth $1,422,000 after buying an additional 18,566 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of IonQ by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 255,061 shares of the company's stock worth $10,654,000 after buying an additional 77,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of IonQ by 4,683.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 54,336 shares of the company's stock worth $1,199,000 after buying an additional 53,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.