Zacks Investment Management Trims Stock Holdings in IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)

Zacks Investment Management lowered its stake in shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Free Report) by 70.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,149 shares of the company's stock after selling 109,552 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in IonQ were worth $1,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in IonQ during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 421.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in IonQ in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. City State Bank acquired a new stake in IonQ during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank boosted its stake in shares of IonQ by 350.0% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 900 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.42% of the company's stock.

IonQ Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of IONQ traded up $0.77 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $26.33. The company had a trading volume of 9,181,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,870,986. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.01. IonQ, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.22 and a 12-month high of $54.74. The company has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.51 and a beta of 2.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William F. Scannell bought 93,066 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $21.81 per share, with a total value of $2,029,769.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 135,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,945,375.07. The trade was a 221.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 20,047 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.57, for a total transaction of $372,272.79. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 572,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,632,587.76. This represents a 3.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,033,166 shares of company stock worth $38,059,593. Insiders own 11.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on IONQ shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson cut their price target on IonQ from $50.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.80.

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.