IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading 7% Higher – What’s Next?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shot up 7% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $47.49 and last traded at $46.12. 14,337,494 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 17,619,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.60.

IonQ Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a PE ratio of -58.97 and a beta of 2.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $31.87 and its 200 day moving average is $16.59.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $12.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.56 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 457.85% and a negative return on equity of 36.82%. IonQ’s revenue was up 102.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.22) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In related news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 22,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.75, for a total value of $406,031.25. Following the sale, the executive now owns 592,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,519,679.50. This trade represents a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.72, for a total transaction of $290,661.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 926,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,524,108.08. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,223 shares of company stock valued at $2,286,983 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of IonQ by 1,348.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in IonQ by 4,824.2% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 6,368 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in IonQ by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of IonQ during the 2nd quarter worth $67,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 3rd quarter valued at $72,000. 41.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IonQ Company Profile

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.