IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Up 7.9% – Time to Buy?

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) were up 7.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $45.40 and last traded at $44.58. Approximately 18,418,371 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 74% from the average daily volume of 10,585,782 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IONQ. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark increased their target price on IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on IonQ in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, IonQ presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.60.

IonQ Stock Up 7.9 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.04 and a beta of 2.49.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.02). IonQ had a negative return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. The firm had revenue of $12.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.56 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.22) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 102.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In related news, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.72, for a total value of $290,661.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 926,114 shares in the company, valued at $27,524,108.08. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.72, for a total transaction of $115,735.00. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 638,908 shares in the company, valued at $7,488,001.76. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,223 shares of company stock worth $2,286,983 over the last 90 days. 11.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in IonQ by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,614,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,107,000 after buying an additional 135,851 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 3rd quarter worth $5,036,000. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ during the third quarter valued at about $3,749,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in IonQ by 34.2% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 437,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,825,000 after acquiring an additional 111,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of IonQ in the 3rd quarter worth $1,631,000. 41.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.