IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Up 3% – Here’s Why

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shot up 3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $47.27 and last traded at $46.3480. Approximately 17,991,014 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 25,334,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IONQ. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded IonQ from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Wedbush started coverage on IonQ in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on IonQ from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.92.

IonQ Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a PE ratio of -9.95 and a beta of 3.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $46.00 and its 200 day moving average is $43.13.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.56) by $0.23. IonQ had a negative net margin of 553.27% and a negative return on equity of 21.75%. The business had revenue of $80.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.70) EPS. IonQ’s revenue was up 286.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In other news, insider John W. Raymond sold 3,815 shares of IonQ 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 completion of 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 2,757 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $151,690.14. Following the sale, the director owned 62,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,444,692.16. The trade was a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,329 shares of company stock valued at $513,216 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IONQ. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 14,898 shares in the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of IonQ during the 1st quarter valued at $630,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 106.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $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 increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 24.1% in 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 worth $9,932,000 after purchasing an additional 87,428 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of IonQ by 30.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 46,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,032,000 after buying an additional 10,881 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.