IonQ Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:IONQ)

Key Points

• IonQ, Inc. saw unusually large options trading activity with 113,654 call options acquired, representing a 37% increase over typical daily volume.
• Insider trading was notable, with Director Kathryn K. Chou selling 6,789 shares and CRO Rima Alameddine selling 45,000 shares, reflecting a decrease in ownership for both.
• Institutional investments rose significantly, with Vanguard Group Inc. increasing its stake by 15.2% and JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosting holdings by 648.5% in the second quarter.

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 113,654 call options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately37% compared to the typical daily volume of 82,731 call options.

Insider Activity

In other IonQ news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 6,789 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.14, for a total transaction of $292,877.46. Following the sale, the director owned 60,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,624,594.46. This represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive directly owned 552,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,518,698.56. This represents a 7.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,209,626 shares of company stock worth $361,253,723 in the last quarter. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IONQ. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in IonQ by 15.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,446 shares of the company's stock worth $1,064,257,000 after purchasing an additional 3,269,482 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the second quarter worth about $114,767,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 648.5% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 262.8% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Amazon Com Inc. bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the second quarter worth about $36,705,000. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IonQ Trading Down 8.6%

Shares of NYSE:IONQ traded down $3.4730 on Tuesday, hitting $36.7570. The company had a trading volume of 18,535,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,846,146. IonQ has a 1-year low of $6.54 and a 1-year high of $54.74. The stock has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.29 and a beta of 2.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.35.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on IONQ. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. DA Davidson downgraded shares of IonQ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities began coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.00.

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.

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