IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Up 3.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) traded up 3.8% on Thursday after DA Davidson raised their price target on the stock from $35.00 to $55.00. DA Davidson currently has a neutral rating on the stock. IonQ traded as high as $58.99 and last traded at $57.53. 35,126,070 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 43% from the average session volume of 24,536,498 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.41.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of IonQ from $32.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of IonQ from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 19,976 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total value of $886,934.40. Following the transaction, the executive owned 532,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,648,150.40. This trade represents a 3.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Masi Niccolo De sold 16,120 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total transaction of $715,728.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,181,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,444,658.40. This represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,622 shares of company stock valued at $4,931,896. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in IonQ by 28.4% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank lifted its position in IonQ by 112.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in IonQ by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Lauer Wealth LLC lifted its position in IonQ by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lauer Wealth LLC now owns 4,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in IonQ by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

IonQ Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $61.00 and its 200-day moving average is $46.56. The firm has a market cap of $19.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.62 and a beta of 2.59.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($3.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($3.14). The company had revenue of $39.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.99 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 67.11% and a negative net margin of 885.21%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 221.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.24) EPS. IonQ has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current year.

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.