IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 9.2% – Here’s What Happened

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares rose 9.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $34.65 and last traded at $34.1750. Approximately 21,448,501 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 21,172,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on IONQ shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on IonQ in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on IonQ from $32.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded IonQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.91.

IonQ Stock Up 9.2%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.39 and a beta of 2.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IonQ news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.89, for a total value of $4,689,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive owned 432,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,285,364.24. This represents a 18.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total transaction of $1,028,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 60,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,127,124.60. This represents a 24.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 125,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,992,000. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 700.0% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in IonQ by 485.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in IonQ by 112.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.