IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 7.9% – Should You Sell?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s share price fell 7.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $33.63 and last traded at $35.42. 31,984,991 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 52% from the average session volume of 21,003,092 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONQ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of IonQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.91.

IonQ Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $12.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.62 and a beta of 2.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $48.21 and its 200-day moving average is $51.39.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($3.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($3.14). The company had revenue of $39.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.99 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 1,836.32% and a negative return on equity of 127.06%. IonQ’s quarterly revenue was up 221.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.24) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.89, for a total value of $4,689,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 432,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,285,364.24. The trade was a 18.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William J. Teuber, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $54.81 per share, for a total transaction of $109,620.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $351,496.53. This trade represents a 45.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 125,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,992,000 over the last 90 days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Moneco Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Moneco Advisors LLC now owns 10,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in IonQ by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of IonQ by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 119,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,353,000 after buying an additional 17,922 shares during the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in IonQ by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 19,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 7,737 shares in the last quarter. 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.