IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 27,688,041 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 8% from the previous session’s volume of 25,521,809 shares.The stock last traded at $57.8010 and had previously closed at $52.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on IONQ shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $48.50 price objective on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, May 7th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Northland Securities started coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Monday, April 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of IonQ in a report on Monday, February 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.63.

IonQ Stock Up 11.1%

The stock has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -208.91 and a beta of 3.05. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.16.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $64.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.14) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 754.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert T. Cardillo sold 5,165 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.44, for a total value of $203,707.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 112,291 shares in the company, valued at $4,428,757.04. The trade was a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John W. Raymond sold 2,800 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.34, for a total transaction of $93,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 83,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,799,326.42. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 12,354 shares of company stock worth $504,428 over the last 90 days. 5.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONQ. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in IonQ by 485.7% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of IonQ by 171.8% during the 4th quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of IonQ by 3,800.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 624 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of IonQ by 216.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 959 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PeakShares LLC purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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. 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.