IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 3.7% – Should You Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s stock price shot up 3.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $50.92 and last traded at $50.74. 16,394,167 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 15,945,234 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of IonQ from $32.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of IonQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of IonQ from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on IonQ in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on IonQ from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Nine equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.91.

IonQ Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.63 billion, a PE ratio of -9.48 and a beta of 2.63.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($3.58) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($3.14). IonQ had a negative return on equity of 127.06% and a negative net margin of 1,836.32%.The company had revenue of $39.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.24) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 221.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other news, Director William J. Teuber, Jr. purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $54.81 per share, with a total value of $109,620.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $351,496.53. This represents a 45.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.89, for a total value of $4,689,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive owned 432,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,285,364.24. The trade was a 18.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 125,000 shares of company stock worth $5,992,000 over the last ninety days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONQ. Amazon Com Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,705,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of IonQ in the third quarter worth $806,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in IonQ during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,104,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in IonQ during the 2nd quarter valued at $114,767,000. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its position in IonQ by 8,150.0% during the 2nd quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 82,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after buying an additional 81,500 shares during the period. 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.