IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 4.5% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• IonQ's stock price declined 4.5% to $78.38, with significant trading volume increasing by 42% compared to its average session volume.
• Analysts have mostly positive forecasts, with Cantor Fitzgerald raising their target price to $60.00 and a mix of "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings from various firms, leading to an average price target of $58.33.
• Insider selling activity was noted, including a large sale by the CEO, which raised concerns as insiders sold a total of $7.93 million worth of shares in the last 90 days.

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 4.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $75.92 and last traded at $78.38. 34,212,968 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 42% from the average session volume of 24,043,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on IonQ from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a report on Monday, September 15th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.33.

IonQ Trading Down 4.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $23.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.00 and a beta of 2.60. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $53.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.13.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.70) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.57). The business 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%.IonQ's quarterly revenue was up 81.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In related news, CEO Masi Niccolo De sold 16,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total value 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 represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 64,578 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.82, for a total value of $2,700,651.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 473,302 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 178,876 shares of company stock valued at $7,930,390. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 4,683.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 54,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 53,200 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of IonQ by 780.1% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,461 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of IonQ by 60.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,818 shares of the company's stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 4,818 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of IonQ by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 27,476 shares of the company's stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 6,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of IonQ by 91.5% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,385 shares of the company's stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 4,485 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is 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.

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