IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading 2.2% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) were up 2.2% on Monday . The company traded as high as $38.56 and last traded at $37.5410. Approximately 18,136,283 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 24,571,121 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of IonQ from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $49.00 target price on IonQ in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wedbush started coverage on IonQ in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Ten equities 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, IonQ has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.17.

IonQ Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $39.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.80. The company has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.06 and a beta of 3.30.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by $0.23. The business had revenue of $80.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.47 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 553.27% and a negative return on equity of 22.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 286.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.70) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In related news, Director Kathryn Chou sold 2,757 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $151,690.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 62,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,444,692.16. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Raymond sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total value of $209,863.15. Following the transaction, the insider owned 80,148 shares in the company, valued at $4,408,941.48. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 11,736 shares of company stock worth $602,780 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONQ. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of IonQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,708,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,271,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 96.5% in the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 125,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,620,000 after purchasing an additional 61,656 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in IonQ by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 62,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,790,000 after buying an additional 14,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in IonQ during the second quarter worth approximately $981,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

IonQ Company Profile

IonQ, Inc is a quantum computing company that develops and commercializes quantum computers based on trapped-ion technology. Its systems are designed to perform specialized computations that may be difficult for classical computers, with potential applications in areas such as optimization, materials science, drug discovery, artificial intelligence and financial modeling.

The company provides access to its quantum processors through cloud platforms, including Amazon Web Services’ Amazon Braket, Microsoft Azure Quantum and Google Cloud.