IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Still a Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 10,259,263 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the previous session's volume of 10,134,744 shares.The stock last traded at $42.09 and had previously closed at $43.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of IonQ from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

IonQ Trading Down 14.5 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.40. The firm has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.30 and a beta of 2.49.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.02). IonQ had a negative return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. The business had revenue of $12.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.22) EPS. The business's revenue was up 102.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other IonQ news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,159 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.72, for a total value of $98,184.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 648,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,954,953.76. The trade was a 1.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $389,641.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at $12,319,011.99. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,223 shares of company stock worth $2,286,983. 11.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in IonQ in the third quarter valued at $91,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in IonQ by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,420,152 shares of the company's stock worth $38,640,000 after purchasing an additional 199,360 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in IonQ in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,631,000. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in IonQ during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,865,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management grew its stake in IonQ by 10.0% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 154,701 shares of the company's stock worth $1,352,000 after buying an additional 14,072 shares during the period. 41.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.