IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 11.9% – Here’s Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s share price rose 11.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $36.18 and last traded at $35.7910. Approximately 23,051,293 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 25,574,877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.99.

Key Stories Impacting IonQ

Here are the key news stories impacting IonQ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: IonQ completed its acquisition of SkyWater Technology, giving it direct access to domestic semiconductor-fabrication capabilities. Management says the combination will support a vertically integrated quantum platform spanning quantum foundry operations, advanced packaging and manufacturing. IonQ Completes Acquisition of SkyWater Technology
• Positive Sentiment: The SkyWater deal could improve IonQ’s hardware roadmap by reducing reliance on outside chip suppliers and strengthening its position in the U.S. quantum ecosystem. Wedbush viewed regulatory approval for the transaction as a potential roadmap improvement. Wedbush on IonQ’s SkyWater acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and commentators remain bullish on IonQ’s trapped-ion technology and cite its accuracy advantage over certain competitors. That optimism, combined with the acquisition, is helping frame IonQ as one of the stronger long-term quantum-computing candidates. IonQ bullish stance and rating upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: IonQ is among the most heavily searched stocks on Zacks, indicating heightened investor interest but not necessarily a change in the company’s fundamentals. Investors heavily search IonQ
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also looking ahead to IonQ’s expected second-quarter earnings report on August 5. The event could intensify volatility, particularly after the company’s latest quarterly earnings-per-share miss despite strong revenue growth.
• Negative Sentiment: The broader quantum-computing and technology sectors remain under pressure after a significant sell-off. IonQ’s high valuation, continued losses and highly speculative profile leave the stock vulnerable if earnings, guidance or acquisition integration do not meet expectations. Quantum earnings and sector sell-off

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $85.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Benchmark assumed coverage on IonQ in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of IonQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Northland Securities increased their price objective on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $48.50 price target on IonQ in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.46.

IonQ Trading Up 1.8%

The firm has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -130.07 and a beta of 3.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $50.56 and its 200 day moving average is $43.63.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $64.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.75 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 23.20% and a net margin of 174.88%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 754.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.14) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In related news, Director Gabrielle B. Toledano sold 2,757 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total value of $151,662.57. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $613,581.54. This represents a 19.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Robert T. Cardillo sold 3,773 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total transaction of $188,272.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 139,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,984,353.30. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 13,102 shares of company stock worth $701,489 over the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Accent Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of IonQ by 171.8% in the fourth quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in IonQ by 216.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 959 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the period. PeakShares LLC acquired a new position in IonQ in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in IonQ by 117.4% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MWA Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

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. 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.