IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Down 6.8% – Here’s What Happened

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s share price was down 6.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $29.71 and last traded at $29.7750. Approximately 17,537,899 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 21,226,365 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on IONQ shares. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Benchmark lowered their target price on IonQ from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on IonQ from $55.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $37.00 price objective on IonQ in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IonQ has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.45.

IonQ Trading Down 6.8%

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.53. The stock has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.96 and a beta of 2.61.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In related news, Director William J. Teuber, Jr. purchased 3,000 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $38.38 per share, with a total value of $115,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $361,270.94. This represents a 46.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert T. Cardillo sold 5,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.44, for a total value of $203,707.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 112,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,428,757.04. This trade represents a 4.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,581 shares of company stock worth $316,156. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in IonQ by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,774,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,420,037 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $199,753,000. Marex Group plc lifted its holdings 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 during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,962,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,663,230 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of IonQ by 648.5% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,674,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,917,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317,058 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.