The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Price Target to $8.00

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $11.50 to $8.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.36% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on IONQ. Craig Hallum dropped their target price on shares of IonQ from $21.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.60.

IonQ Stock Performance

Shares of IONQ traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $7.12. 4,208,093 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,788,253. IonQ has a 1-year low of $6.22 and a 1-year high of $21.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.58 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.60 and a 200-day moving average of $8.81.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.04. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 31.76% and a negative net margin of 671.00%. The business had revenue of $11.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.16) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 106.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that IonQ will post -0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In related news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 5,936 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.89, for a total value of $46,835.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 445,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,513,393.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 4,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.89, for a total value of $36,372.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 949,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,454.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 5,936 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.89, for a total value of $46,835.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 445,297 shares in the company, valued at $3,513,393.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,353 shares of company stock worth $160,585 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of IonQ by 5.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,824,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,062,000 after buying an additional 918,265 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in IonQ by 27.3% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,654,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,661,000 after purchasing an additional 569,906 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in IonQ in the fourth quarter worth $26,430,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of IonQ by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,321,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,371,000 after purchasing an additional 29,577 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of IonQ by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 916,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,443,000 after acquiring an additional 131,439 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently 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.