IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Down After Insider Selling

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) gapped down prior to trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $33.83, but opened at $32.47. IonQ shares last traded at $34.17, with a volume of 4,880,275 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $389,641.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were 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 $27,524,108.08. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 21,337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $634,349.01. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 571,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,985,373.33. This represents a 3.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on IONQ shares. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Craig Hallum increased their target price on IonQ from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

IonQ Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $9.49 billion, a PE ratio of -54.12 and a beta of 2.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.40.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $12.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.56 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 457.85% and a negative return on equity of 36.82%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.22) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 102.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 3.6% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of IonQ by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 3,736 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of IonQ by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 4,288 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in IonQ by 4,824.2% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 6,368 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in IonQ by 40.6% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 7,744 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

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.