IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Given Buy Rating at Benchmark

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at Benchmark in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark’s price objective points to a potential upside of 47.15% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on IONQ. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on IonQ from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $48.50 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday. Nine 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.88.

IonQ Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IONQ traded up $0.84 on Thursday, hitting $40.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,780,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,422,563. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.39. The company has a market capitalization of $15.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -145.29 and a beta of 3.28. IonQ has a 12 month low of $25.89 and a 12 month high of $84.64.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.34) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by ($0.08). IonQ had a negative return on equity of 23.20% and a net margin of 174.88%.The business had revenue of $64.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.14) EPS. IonQ’s revenue for the quarter was up 754.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that IonQ will post -2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In related news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 2,757 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $151,690.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 62,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,444,692.16. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John W. Raymond sold 3,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 80,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,408,941.48. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,329 shares of company stock worth $513,216. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of 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 bought a new stake in IonQ in the first quarter valued at $630,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in IonQ by 106.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after acquiring an additional 29,513 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of IonQ by 24.1% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 87,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in IonQ by 30.3% during the 1st 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

More IonQ News

Here are the key news stories impacting IonQ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record revenue and raised outlook: IonQ reported second-quarter revenue of approximately $80.1 million, up 287% year over year and above expectations. Although the company remained unprofitable, its adjusted loss of about $0.33 per share was better than some analyst estimates. Management raised 2026 revenue guidance to $280 million-$290 million, above the roughly $268 million consensus estimate. The outlook excludes potential contributions from the SkyWater acquisition. IonQ Announces Record Second Quarter 2026 Revenues
• Positive Sentiment: Defense business expanded: IonQ received a $28 million DARPA contract extension to produce and deliver 125 Evergreen-05 optical atomic clocks for applications including radar and secure communications. Its Capella space division also won an NRO contract to provide synthetic-aperture radar imagery and data, strengthening the company’s national-security revenue pipeline. DARPA Selects IonQ to Produce Next-Generation Atomic Clocks
• Positive Sentiment: SkyWater roadmap and partnerships: Management highlighted SkyWater’s development of a 256-qubit system and a vertically integrated quantum-computing manufacturing roadmap. Deals involving Sandia National Laboratories and EPB further support IonQ’s quantum networking and security ambitions. IONQ Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Needham, Cantor Fitzgerald and Rosenblatt reaffirmed bullish ratings, with price targets of $65, $70 and $100, respectively. Analyst ratings reported by Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks remain: IonQ continues to post losses and trades at a highly speculative valuation. The $1.8 billion SkyWater acquisition creates integration and cash-use risks, while the stock remains well below its 52-week high and below its major moving averages, reflecting investor concerns about volatility and the pace at which quantum demand becomes profitable.

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.