IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 9.5% – Here’s Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s stock price was up 9.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $54.20 and last traded at $53.9890. 22,772,921 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 26,836,779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on IONQ shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $85.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Northland Securities increased their price target on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of IonQ from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.88.

IonQ Trading Down 3.2%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $55.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.05. The company has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -184.04 and a beta of 3.18.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by ($0.08). IonQ had a negative return on equity of 23.20% and a net margin of 174.88%.The business had revenue of $64.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.75 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.14) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 754.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In related news, Director Gabrielle B. Toledano sold 2,757 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 transaction of $151,662.57. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $613,581.54. The trade was a 19.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 2,757 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $151,690.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 62,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,444,692.16. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,102 shares of company stock worth $701,489. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of IonQ by 12.5% in the 1st 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 during the period. Amundi acquired a new position in IonQ during the first quarter valued at approximately $630,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in IonQ by 106.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $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 stake in 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 valued at $9,932,000 after purchasing an additional 87,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in IonQ by 30.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 46,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 10,881 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

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.