IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Receives “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at Benchmark in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $60.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark’s target price suggests a potential upside of 47.15% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of IonQ from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $48.50 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded IonQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of IonQ from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Northland Securities increased their target price on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.88.

IonQ Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of IONQ stock traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $40.77. 14,780,207 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,422,563. The stock has a market cap of $15.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -145.29 and a beta of 3.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.39. IonQ has a 12-month low of $25.89 and a 12-month high of $84.64.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.14) earnings per share. IonQ’s revenue was up 754.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that IonQ will post -2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In other news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 2,757 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $151,690.14. Following the sale, the director directly owned 62,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,444,692.16. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John W. Raymond sold 3,815 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total value of $209,863.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 9,329 shares of company stock worth $513,216 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in IonQ by 171.8% in the 4th quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in IonQ by 216.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 959 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. PeakShares LLC bought a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of IonQ by 117.4% during 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 last quarter. Finally, MWA Asset Management bought a new position in shares of IonQ during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting IonQ

Here are the key news stories impacting IonQ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record revenue and raised outlook: IonQ reported second-quarter revenue of approximately $80.1 million, up 287% year over year and above expectations. Although the company remained unprofitable, its adjusted loss of about $0.33 per share was better than some analyst estimates. Management raised 2026 revenue guidance to $280 million-$290 million, above the roughly $268 million consensus estimate. The outlook excludes potential contributions from the SkyWater acquisition. IonQ Announces Record Second Quarter 2026 Revenues
• Positive Sentiment: Defense business expanded: IonQ received a $28 million DARPA contract extension to produce and deliver 125 Evergreen-05 optical atomic clocks for applications including radar and secure communications. Its Capella space division also won an NRO contract to provide synthetic-aperture radar imagery and data, strengthening the company’s national-security revenue pipeline. DARPA Selects IonQ to Produce Next-Generation Atomic Clocks
• Positive Sentiment: SkyWater roadmap and partnerships: Management highlighted SkyWater’s development of a 256-qubit system and a vertically integrated quantum-computing manufacturing roadmap. Deals involving Sandia National Laboratories and EPB further support IonQ’s quantum networking and security ambitions. IONQ Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Needham, Cantor Fitzgerald and Rosenblatt reaffirmed bullish ratings, with price targets of $65, $70 and $100, respectively. Analyst ratings reported by Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks remain: IonQ continues to post losses and trades at a highly speculative valuation. The $1.8 billion SkyWater acquisition creates integration and cash-use risks, while the stock remains well below its 52-week high and below its major moving averages, reflecting investor concerns about volatility and the pace at which quantum demand becomes profitable.

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.