IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.4583.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $48.50 target price on IonQ in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $85.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of IonQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th.

IonQ Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IONQ opened at $36.42 on Friday. IonQ has a 1 year low of $25.89 and a 1 year high of $84.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -130.07 and a beta of 3.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.63.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.14) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 754.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that IonQ will post -2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about IonQ

Here are the key news stories impacting IonQ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: IonQ completed its acquisition of SkyWater Technology, giving it direct access to domestic semiconductor-fabrication capabilities. Management says the combination will support a vertically integrated quantum platform spanning quantum foundry operations, advanced packaging and manufacturing. IonQ Completes Acquisition of SkyWater Technology
• Positive Sentiment: The SkyWater deal could improve IonQ’s hardware roadmap by reducing reliance on outside chip suppliers and strengthening its position in the U.S. quantum ecosystem. Wedbush viewed regulatory approval for the transaction as a potential roadmap improvement. Wedbush on IonQ’s SkyWater acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and commentators remain bullish on IonQ’s trapped-ion technology and cite its accuracy advantage over certain competitors. That optimism, combined with the acquisition, is helping frame IonQ as one of the stronger long-term quantum-computing candidates. IonQ bullish stance and rating upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: IonQ is among the most heavily searched stocks on Zacks, indicating heightened investor interest but not necessarily a change in the company’s fundamentals. Investors heavily search IonQ
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also looking ahead to IonQ’s expected second-quarter earnings report on August 5. The event could intensify volatility, particularly after the company’s latest quarterly earnings-per-share miss despite strong revenue growth.
• Negative Sentiment: The broader quantum-computing and technology sectors remain under pressure after a significant sell-off. IonQ’s high valuation, continued losses and highly speculative profile leave the stock vulnerable if earnings, guidance or acquisition integration do not meet expectations. Quantum earnings and sector sell-off

Insider Activity at IonQ

In other IonQ news, Director Gabrielle B. Toledano sold 2,757 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total transaction of $151,662.57. Following the sale, the director owned 11,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $613,581.54. The trade was a 19.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John W. Raymond sold 3,815 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,102 shares of company stock worth $701,489. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,708,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter worth about $3,271,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in shares of IonQ by 96.5% in the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 125,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,620,000 after acquiring an additional 61,656 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of IonQ by 30.3% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden bought a new stake in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,488,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.