IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 4.1% – Time to Sell?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) was down 4.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $40.33 and last traded at $41.57. Approximately 17,074,970 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 25,108,361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of IonQ from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of IonQ in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.92.

IonQ Trading Up 8.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.13 billion, a PE ratio of -9.65 and a beta of 3.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $44.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.17.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.56) by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $80.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.47 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 22.29% and a negative net margin of 553.27%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 286.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.70) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IonQ news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 2,757 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $151,690.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 62,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,444,692.16. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John W. Raymond sold 3,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total transaction of $209,863.15. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,148 shares in the company, valued at $4,408,941.48. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,329 shares of company stock worth $513,216 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in IonQ during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,776,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 11,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of IonQ in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,708,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 191.3% in the second quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 20,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 13,784 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

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.