Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys New Stake in IonQ, Inc. $IONQ

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 76,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,089,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IONQ. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter worth $2,708,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in IonQ by 96.5% during the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 125,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,620,000 after purchasing an additional 61,656 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in IonQ by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 62,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 14,465 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the second quarter valued at approximately $981,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden bought a new stake in IonQ during the 4th quarter valued at $5,488,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In related news, insider John W. Raymond sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total transaction of $209,863.15. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 80,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,408,941.48. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction of $151,690.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 62,608 shares in the company, valued at $3,444,692.16. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,329 shares of company stock worth $513,216. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

IonQ Trading Down 7.7%

Shares of IonQ stock opened at $39.18 on Friday. IonQ, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.89 and a 12 month high of $84.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.41 and a beta of 3.28.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.56) by $0.23. IonQ had a negative net margin of 553.27% and a negative return on equity of 22.29%. The business had revenue of $80.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.70) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 286.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Northland Securities raised their price objective on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded IonQ from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Wedbush initiated coverage on IonQ in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.92.

IonQ 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.