IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Up 4.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• IonQ's stock price increased by 4.3% following an upgrade from B. Riley, which raised its price target from $75.00 to $100.00 and maintains a buy rating.
• IonQ reported a revenue of $20.69 million for the last quarter, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $17.23 million, despite missing EPS estimates.
• A total of 351,047 shares were sold by insiders in the last quarter, marking a significant movement of shares, while 41.42% of the company’s stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 4.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after B. Riley raised their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $100.00. B. Riley currently has a buy rating on the stock. IonQ traded as high as $76.13 and last traded at $75.04. 39,793,258 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 73% from the average session volume of 23,030,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.94.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on IONQ. Wolfe Research began coverage on IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Benchmark raised their target price on IonQ from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of IonQ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IonQ news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $2,078,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 552,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,518,698.56. This trade represents a 7.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 6,789 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.14, for a total transaction of $292,877.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 60,839 shares in the company, valued at $2,624,594.46. This represents a 10.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 351,047 shares of company stock valued at $15,645,611 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IONQ. Archer Investment Corp lifted its position in IonQ by 119.3% during the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 592 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in IonQ by 50.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 831 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in IonQ during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in IonQ by 2,034.0% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in shares of IonQ by 28.4% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IonQ Stock Up 4.3%

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $44.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.96. The company has a market cap of $22.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.33 and a beta of 2.54.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.70) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $20.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 81.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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