IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Price Target Cut to $35.00 by Analysts at DA Davidson

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) had its price target lowered by DA Davidson from $55.00 to $35.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research raised IonQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on IonQ from $58.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on IonQ in a report on Thursday, November 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Benchmark dropped their price target on IonQ from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of IonQ from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Nine investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.45.

IonQ Trading Up 21.3%

NYSE IONQ opened at $40.75 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.33. IonQ has a 12-month low of $17.88 and a 12-month high of $84.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.37 and a beta of 2.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $275,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 60,839 shares in the company, valued at $3,346,145. This represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 25,616 shares of company stock valued at $1,322,096 in the last 90 days. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IONQ. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of IonQ by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,774,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,420,037 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in IonQ by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,962,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,160,000 after buying an additional 2,663,230 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of IonQ by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,074,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,624,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452,463 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 4th quarter worth about $199,753,000. Finally, Marex Group plc boosted its stake in shares of IonQ by 419.1% during the 4th quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 4,083,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,225,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,866 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting IonQ

Here are the key news stories impacting IonQ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue and guidance surprise — IonQ reported Q4 revenue of $61.9M (up ~429% YoY), beat estimates and raised FY‑2026 revenue guidance to $225M–$245M, driving the rally. MarketBeat: IonQ Just Delivered the Quarter That Changes the Quantum Narrative
• Positive Sentiment: Large cash cushion — IonQ exited 2025 with roughly $3.3B in cash and investments, reducing dilution risk and giving management runway to invest aggressively. MarketBeat: Cash advantage discussion
• Positive Sentiment: Defense and commercial contract momentum — IonQ was selected to support the Missile Defense Agency SHIELD IDIQ and completed a major Romanian QKD network deployment, validating government demand for its tech. InsideHPC: SHIELD IDIQ selection Yahoo: Romania QKD deployment
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic M&A and supply‑chain moves — Acquisitions (Vector Atomic, SkyWater) position IonQ for integrated sensing/manufacturing that appeal to defense and enterprise buyers. MarketBeat: Acquisitions and strategic rationale
• Positive Sentiment: Support from some sell‑side firms — Rosenblatt reaffirmed a buy and Benchmark kept a buy rating (lowered PT) — bullish voices that can sustain upward momentum. Benzinga: Analyst actions
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector context — analysts and comparisons to peers (e.g., Rigetti) are highlighting where upside vs. execution risk remains; useful for relative-risk assessment but not an immediate catalyst. Zacks: Rigetti vs IonQ
• Negative Sentiment: Margins and cash burn remain issues — gross margin contracted in Q4 and management guided an adjusted loss of ~$310M–$330M for 2026, keeping long‑term profitability a risk. Zacks: Gross margin down
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts trimmed targets / moved to neutral — JPMorgan cut its PT to $42 (neutral) and DA Davidson lowered its PT to $35 (neutral), signaling lingering valuation concerns. Benzinga: Analyst price target cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Minor insider selling disclosed — a director sold a small block of shares; not large enough alone to alter the picture but worth noting. SEC filing: insider sale

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.