IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Down 4.6% - Time to Sell?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) shares fell 4.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $44.65 and last traded at $45.82. 10,736,658 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 17,542,427 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on IONQ. Benchmark decreased their price objective on IonQ from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on IonQ from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on IonQ from $50.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on IonQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.33.

IonQ Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.67. The stock has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a PE ratio of -49.80 and a beta of 2.46.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.14. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. The firm had revenue of $7.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.19) EPS. The firm's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In other news, Director William F. Scannell bought 93,066 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.81 per share, with a total value of $2,029,769.46. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 135,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,945,375.07. The trade was a 221.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.72, for a total value of $37,440,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at $7,756,875.36. This represents a 82.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,033,166 shares of company stock valued at $38,059,593 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in IonQ during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in IonQ by 348.0% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,120 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in IonQ by 421.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in IonQ during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in IonQ during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 41.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.