IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Up 5.1% - Here's Why

Key Points

• IonQ shares increased by 5.1% on Friday, closing at $73.17, with a trading volume significantly up by 60% over the average daily volume.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on IonQ, with some upgrading their price targets to as high as $80.00, while others have lowered ratings, resulting in an average price target of $58.33.
• Despite its strong revenue growth of 81.6% year-over-year, IonQ reported a loss of ($0.70) earnings per share, indicating challenges in profitability.

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) were up 5.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $73.76 and last traded at $73.17. Approximately 37,459,927 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 60% from the average daily volume of 23,480,838 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on IONQ shares. Benchmark lifted their price objective on IonQ from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company 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 objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on IonQ from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of IonQ 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 one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.33.

IonQ Stock Up 5.1%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.66. The firm has a market cap of $21.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.40 and a beta of 2.60.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%.The company's revenue was up 81.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In related news, insider Paul T. Dacier sold 4,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total transaction of $185,370.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 114,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,081,757.60. This trade represents a 3.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Masi Niccolo De sold 16,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total value of $715,728.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,181,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,444,658.40. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 279,047 shares of company stock valued at $12,602,891. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of IonQ by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,446 shares of the company's stock worth $1,064,257,000 after acquiring an additional 3,269,482 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $114,767,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of IonQ by 648.5% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,674,348 shares of the company's stock worth $114,917,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317,058 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of IonQ by 262.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 576,391 shares of the company's stock worth $24,768,000 after acquiring an additional 930,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amazon Com Inc. acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,705,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.42% of the company's stock.

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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