IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 3.9% - What's Next?

Key Points

• IonQ's stock price fell 3.9% during trading, closing at $63.01, with significant trading volume of over 33 million shares, indicating increased market activity.
• Research analysts have varied opinions on IonQ, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target averaging $58.33, while some firms like DA Davidson downgraded their rating to "neutral."
• The company reported a larger-than-expected loss of ($0.70) EPS for the last quarter, despite a year-over-year revenue increase of 81.6%, bringing in $20.69 million compared to the expected $17.23 million.

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 3.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $61.21 and last traded at $63.01. Approximately 33,188,249 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 37% from the average daily volume of 24,187,975 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IONQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. DA Davidson cut shares of IonQ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of IonQ from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $58.33.

IonQ Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $55.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.89. The stock has a market cap of $18.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.35 and a beta of 2.60.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $20.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.23 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 67.11% and a negative net margin of 885.21%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 81.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In other IonQ news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 19,976 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total transaction of $886,934.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive owned 532,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,648,150.40. The trade was a 3.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 64,578 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.82, for a total transaction of $2,700,651.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 473,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,793,489.64. The trade was a 12.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 178,876 shares of company stock worth $7,930,390. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IONQ. Hilltop National Bank grew its holdings in shares of IonQ by 112.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 425 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in shares of IonQ by 119.3% in the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 592 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of IonQ by 2,034.0% in the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 956 shares during the period. 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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