IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Raised to Strong-Buy at DA Davidson

DA Davidson upgraded shares of IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on IONQ. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.00.

IonQ Stock Performance

NYSE:IONQ traded down $2.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $31.74. 15,720,912 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,504,479. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $39.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.18 and a beta of 2.40. IonQ has a fifty-two week low of $6.22 and a fifty-two week high of $54.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IonQ news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $389,641.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at $12,319,011.99. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.72, for a total transaction of $290,661.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 926,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,524,108.08. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,223 shares of company stock worth $1,314,652. Corporate insiders own 11.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in IonQ by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 362,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,146,000 after buying an additional 82,499 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,081,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Visionary Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter worth $567,000. 41.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.