IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 3.1% on Insider Selling
by Scott Moore · The Cerbat GemIonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ – Get Free Report)’s share price dropped 3.1% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $48.73 and last traded at $49.8220. Approximately 10,321,618 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 24,118,711 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.39.
Specifically, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $275,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 60,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,346,145. This represents a 7.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms recently issued reports on IONQ. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of IonQ from $75.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on IonQ in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wedbush initiated coverage on IonQ in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.08.
Read Our Latest Research Report on IonQ
IonQ Price Performance
The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.26. The stock has a market cap of $17.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.31 and a beta of 2.62.
IonQ (NYSE:IONQ – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($3.58) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($3.14). IonQ had a negative net margin of 1,836.32% and a negative return on equity of 127.06%. The business had revenue of $39.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.24) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 221.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current year.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ
Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IONQ. Amazon Com Inc. acquired a new position in shares of IonQ during the second quarter worth about $36,705,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,104,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $114,767,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its holdings in IonQ by 8,150.0% in the second quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 82,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 81,500 shares during the period. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its stake in IonQ by 21.5% during the second quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 102,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,403,000 after acquiring an additional 18,124 shares during the period. 41.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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. 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.