IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $49.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday. Northland Securities lifted their target price on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.92.

IonQ Stock Up 12.0%

NYSE IONQ opened at $44.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $47.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.32. IonQ has a 52 week low of $25.89 and a 52 week high of $84.64. The company has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.55 and a beta of 3.28.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.56) by $0.23. The company had revenue of $80.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.47 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 21.75% and a negative net margin of 553.27%.The firm’s revenue was up 286.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.70) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that IonQ will post -2.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gabrielle B. Toledano sold 2,757 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total transaction of $151,662.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John W. Raymond sold 3,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total transaction of $209,863.15. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,408,941.48. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 9,329 shares of company stock worth $513,216 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of IonQ by 18.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ in the second quarter worth about $1,112,945,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in IonQ by 42.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in IonQ by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,074,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,624,000 after buying an additional 1,452,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in IonQ during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $199,753,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

More IonQ News

Here are the key news stories impacting IonQ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly results and raised outlook: IonQ reported second-quarter revenue of approximately $80.1 million, up 287% year over year and above expectations. The company also raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $280 million–$290 million, reinforcing the view that demand is accelerating. IONQ Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Beat, Stock Rises
• Positive Sentiment: Defense business is expanding: DARPA awarded IonQ a $28 million contract extension, with a potential additional $30 million option, to produce 125 next-generation optical atomic clocks. Separately, IonQ’s Capella space division won an NRO contract for commercial synthetic-aperture-radar data supporting national-security missions. These awards add revenue visibility and strengthen IonQ’s government customer base. DARPA Selects IonQ to Produce Next-Generation Atomic Clocks
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic growth initiatives gained attention: The $1.8 billion SkyWater Technology acquisition is supporting IonQ’s vertically integrated quantum roadmap, including a planned 256-qubit system. Reported remaining performance obligations reached $485 million, while new grid, networking and cybersecurity projects broaden the company’s commercial opportunity. IonQ Sparks a Quantum Grid Revolution
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains bullish: Benchmark, Needham, Cantor Fitzgerald and Rosenblatt reaffirmed positive ratings, with price targets ranging from $60 to $100, helping support the rebound in speculative quantum stocks.
• Neutral Sentiment: IonQ remains a high-volatility, unprofitable growth stock. Analysts see substantial long-term upside if quantum adoption reaches commercial milestones, but the shares are still well below their 52-week high and the company continues to post significant losses. What Sent IonQ Shares Surging and Whether the Momentum Can Last
• Negative Sentiment: IonQ filed a prospectus supplement related to a secondary share resale, which could increase the available share supply and create dilution or selling-pressure concerns. Investors are also still mindful of the stock’s 31.6% July decline and the risk that enthusiasm may fade if quantum commercialization takes longer than expected. IonQ Files Prospectus Supplement for Secondary Share Resale

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.