IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Up 4.2% – Should You Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s share price was up 4.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $45.54 and last traded at $45.25. Approximately 20,531,266 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 25,398,105 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on IONQ shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of IonQ from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $49.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.92.

IonQ Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of -9.71 and a beta of 3.28. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $46.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.17.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.56) by $0.23. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 21.75% and a negative net margin of 553.27%.The company had revenue of $80.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.70) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 286.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IonQ news, insider John W. Raymond sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total transaction of $209,863.15. Following the completion of 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 2,757 shares of IonQ 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 sale, the director owned 62,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,444,692.16. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,329 shares of company stock valued at $513,216. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IONQ. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter valued at $2,708,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter worth about $3,271,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $3,620,000 after purchasing an additional 61,656 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of IonQ by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 62,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 14,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden acquired a new stake in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter worth about $5,488,000. Hedge funds and other 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.