IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Falls 6.4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) dropped 6.4% on Friday. The company traded as low as $28.25 and last traded at $28.8970. 21,577,483 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 24,472,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.86.

Latest IonQ News

Here’s some of the latest news about IONQ:

• Positive Sentiment: The company reported progress to Stage C of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, highlighting its “walking cat” fault-tolerant design. The milestone may bolster the case for IonQ’s technology in practical and government applications. IonQ (IONQ) Reaches DARPA Stage C With Its Walking Cat Quantum Design
• Neutral Sentiment: Some of the reported revenue growth came from a chip foundry IonQ acquired in July, so investors may be weighing how much growth reflects the underlying business versus the acquisition. IonQ Is Up 3% in a Week. Is Its “Industry Record” Guidance Really That Good?
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Inder Singh has left effective immediately. Commvault’s Gary Merrill is slated to take over in early December, and the sudden transition may raise concerns about continuity as IonQ scales. IonQ Sinks 8% as Inder Singh Exits “Effective Immediately” in Finance Leadership Shake-Up

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on IONQ shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of IonQ from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of IonQ from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 6th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of IonQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of IonQ from $49.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.23.

IonQ Stock Down 6.4%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.54 and a 200 day moving average of $41.31. The company has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a PE ratio of 107.03 and a beta of 3.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.24 and a quick ratio of 10.66.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by $0.06. IonQ had a return on equity of 0.18% and a net margin of 67.09%. The business had revenue of $173.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($3.58) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 336.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In related news, insider John Raymond sold 2,407 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $89,564.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 77,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,892,742.61. This trade represents a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its position in IonQ by 2.5% during the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 12,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in IonQ by 26.1% in the second 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. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in IonQ by 6.8% in the third quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of IonQ by 14.9% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 2,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of IonQ by 10.1% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About IonQ

IonQ, Inc. develops quantum computers and related technologies using trapped-ion qubits, which store information in individual charged atoms. The company designs quantum computing hardware and software for applications that may benefit from quantum processing, including optimization, chemistry, and machine learning. IonQ makes its quantum systems available to businesses, government agencies, and researchers through its cloud service and third-party platforms, including Amazon Braket and Microsoft Azure Quantum.