IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading 21.3% Higher – Time to Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares rose 21.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $41.90 and last traded at $40.75. Approximately 69,618,672 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 223% from the average daily volume of 21,524,271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.59.

More IonQ News

Here are the key news stories impacting IonQ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings and revenue beat, management raised full‑year guidance — IonQ reported Q4 revenue of $61.9M (up ~429% YoY), beat estimates, narrowed losses, and guided FY2026 revenue to $225M–$245M, well above consensus; this is the main driver of today’s rally. MarketBeat: Quarter that changes the quantum narrative
• Positive Sentiment: Major commercial / defense wins and deployments — IonQ announced a large operational QKD deployment in Romania and was selected to support the U.S. Missile Defense Agency SHIELD IDIQ, validating commercial and government demand for its quantum networking and sensing stack. Yahoo: Romania QKD deployment
• Positive Sentiment: Big cash position reduces dilution risk — management disclosed pro‑forma cash, equivalents and investments of roughly $3.3B, giving IonQ flexibility to fund growth, M&A and defense work without immediate equity raises. MarketBeat: Cash advantage
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic M&A and vertical integration — recent deals (Vector Atomic, SkyWater) support a full‑stack commercial/defense strategy; these are constructive long term but add integration risk and capital needs. MarketBeat: M&A and strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Cost pressure and margin compression — revenue surged, but gross margin fell and operating losses are widening; management expects a sizable adjusted loss for 2026, offset by the large cash balance. Zacks: Revenue beat but margins down
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed analyst reactions — some firms cut price targets and forecasts after the results (DA Davidson lowered its target to $35 and moved to Neutral) even as others reiterated high targets, creating analyst disagreement and potential volatility. Benzinga: DA Davidson PT cut
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale disclosed — a company director sold 616 shares recently; small in size but will be noted by some investors watching insider activity. SEC filing: Insider sale

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONQ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of IonQ from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of IonQ in a report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $37.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on IonQ from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on IonQ in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.45.

IonQ Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.39. The company has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.62 and a beta of 2.63.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In related news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 20,000 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total value of $1,028,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 60,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,127,124.60. The trade was a 24.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 25,616 shares of company stock valued at $1,322,096 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IONQ. Tempo Wealth LLC acquired a new position in IonQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $330,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of IonQ by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 611,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,456,000 after buying an additional 127,207 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of IonQ by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 62,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after buying an additional 14,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake in IonQ by 157.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.