Investors Purchase Large Volume of IonQ Call Options (NYSE:IONQ)

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 122,174 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 101% compared to the average daily volume of 60,696 call options.

IonQ Stock Down 2.4%

IonQ stock traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.79. The company had a trading volume of 19,334,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,713,733. IonQ has a 52 week low of $6.22 and a 52 week high of $54.74. The firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.65 and a beta of 2.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.19 and a 200-day moving average of $33.38.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $7.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.51 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 457.85% and a negative return on equity of 36.82%. The business's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. On average, analysts predict that IonQ will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other IonQ news, Director Gabrielle B. Toledano sold 792 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $32,868.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 792 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,868. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Masi Niccolo De sold 2,597,500 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.34, for a total transaction of $104,783,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 711,987 shares in the company, valued at $28,721,555.58. The trade was a 78.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,766,957 shares of company stock worth $111,561,975 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 348.0% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,120 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in IonQ by 421.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new position in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of IonQ from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of IonQ from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

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.