IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Rating Upgraded by Benchmark

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) was upgraded by Benchmark to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of IonQ from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Northland Securities raised their target price on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $48.50 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of IonQ from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.46.

IonQ Stock Performance

NYSE IONQ opened at $33.84 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.63 billion, a PE ratio of -120.85 and a beta of 3.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.98 and its 200 day moving average is $43.90. IonQ has a fifty-two week low of $25.89 and a fifty-two week high of $84.64.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John W. Raymond sold 3,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total value of $209,863.15. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,148 shares in the company, valued at $4,408,941.48. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 2,757 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director owned 62,608 shares in the company, valued at $3,444,692.16. The trade was a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 13,102 shares of company stock valued at $701,489 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONQ. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of IonQ by 12.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 134,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,962,000 after buying an additional 14,898 shares during the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of IonQ in the first quarter worth $630,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 106.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after buying an additional 29,513 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of IonQ by 24.1% during 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 worth $9,932,000 after acquiring an additional 87,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of IonQ by 30.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 46,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 10,881 shares during the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IonQ News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting IonQ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: Benchmark Co. upgraded IonQ to “strong-buy,” reinforcing the bullish case for its full-stack quantum platform and international commercial expansion. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: SkyWater acquisition advances: IonQ received final regulatory approval to complete its acquisition of SkyWater Technology. The deal is expected to strengthen IonQ’s U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, improve supply-chain control and accelerate development of scalable quantum systems. IonQ Receives Regulatory Approval to Complete Acquisition of SkyWater Technology
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial validation for the sector: AT&T’s expanded partnership with D-Wave, which reportedly reduced a network-optimization task from 60 minutes to 15 seconds, is being viewed as evidence that quantum computing is moving toward practical enterprise use. The news lifted sentiment across the sector, including IonQ, and prompted higher analyst price targets for quantum companies. D-Wave’s AT&T Deal Shows Quantum Computing Is Moving Beyond Theory
• Neutral Sentiment: Long-term growth narrative: Recent coverage highlights IonQ’s 256-qubit system, sales in more than 30 countries and exposure to quantum computing, networking, sensing and security. Benchmark estimates the overall quantum industry could generate approximately $1.5 billion in revenue in 2026, but the market remains early-stage and highly speculative. Benchmark’s Quantum Re-Rating Might Change the Case for Investing in IonQ
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks: IonQ recently missed quarterly EPS expectations despite revenue substantially exceeding forecasts. Its losses, negative earnings multiple and elevated volatility leave the stock vulnerable when investors reduce exposure to speculative technology names. The broader AI-infrastructure-led pullback has also pressured quantum stocks.

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.