IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 3% – Still a Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s stock price shot up 3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $47.27 and last traded at $46.3480. Approximately 17,991,014 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 25,334,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on IONQ shares. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on IonQ from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered IonQ from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.92.

IonQ Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $46.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.13. The firm has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.95 and a beta of 3.28.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $80.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.47 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 553.27% and a negative return on equity of 21.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 286.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.70) EPS. On average, analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other IonQ news, insider John W. Raymond sold 3,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,408,941.48. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gabrielle B. Toledano sold 2,757 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total transaction of $151,662.57. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $613,581.54. This represents a 19.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,329 shares of company stock worth $513,216 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONQ. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in IonQ by 24.4% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of IonQ by 117.4% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in IonQ by 50.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its stake in IonQ by 2.5% during the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 12,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of IonQ by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.