Wedbush Reaffirms Outperform Rating for IonQ (NYSE:IONQ)

Key Points

• Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating on IonQ with a $60.00 price target, implying roughly a 29.93% upside from the stock's current price.
• Analyst consensus is a "Moderate Buy" — 10 Buys, 6 Holds and 1 Sell — with a consensus target price of $68.25.
• Insiders have sold 8,581 shares (~$316,156) in the past 90 days (insider ownership now 5.20%), while several institutional investors (e.g., RBC, AQR, UBS) increased their stakes and institutions own about 41.42% of the stock.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reiterated by Wedbush in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $60.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush's price target indicates a potential upside of 29.93% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on IONQ. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of IonQ in a report on Monday, February 9th. Northland Securities began coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Monday, April 20th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $37.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of IonQ from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.25.

IonQ Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE IONQ opened at $46.18 on Monday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $35.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.95. IonQ has a 12-month low of $25.89 and a 12-month high of $84.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.55 and a beta of 3.05.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In other news, insider John W. Raymond sold 2,800 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.34, for a total transaction of $93,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 83,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,799,326.42. The trade was a 3.23% decrease 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 Robert T. Cardillo sold 5,165 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.44, for a total transaction of $203,707.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 112,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,428,757.04. The trade was a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,581 shares of company stock worth $316,156. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONQ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in IonQ by 12.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 134,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,962,000 after purchasing an additional 14,898 shares during the period. Amundi acquired a new position in IonQ during the first quarter valued at $630,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in IonQ by 106.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 29,513 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in IonQ by 24.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 450,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,932,000 after purchasing an additional 87,428 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in IonQ by 30.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 46,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 10,881 shares during the period. 41.42% of the stock is currently 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. It also provides contracts associated with the design, development, and construction of specialized quantum computing hardware systems; maintenance and support services; and consulting services related to co-developing algorithms on quantum computing systems.

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