IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 2.9% – Should You Sell?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) fell 2.9% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $38.35 and last traded at $39.17. 7,743,100 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 17,875,166 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on IONQ. DA Davidson reduced their price target on IonQ from $50.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Benchmark cut their price objective on IonQ from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on IonQ from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on IonQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.33.

IonQ Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.14 and a beta of 2.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.88.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $7.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. IonQ’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In related news, Director William F. Scannell acquired 93,066 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.81 per share, with a total value of $2,029,769.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 135,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,945,375.07. This represents a 221.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 11,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.57, for a total value of $217,491.84. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 944,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,539,550.70. This represents a 1.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,033,166 shares of company stock valued at $38,059,593 in the last three months. 11.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in IonQ by 421.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in IonQ during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in IonQ during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in IonQ during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 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.