IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $22.68, but opened at $23.59. IonQ shares last traded at $23.04, with a volume of 3,123,892 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on IONQ. DA Davidson upgraded IonQ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.80.

IonQ Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.47 and a beta of 2.50. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $32.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.41.

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Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In related news, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 2,000,000 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.72, for a total transaction of $37,440,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 414,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,756,875.36. This trade represents a 82.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 1,407 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $29,828.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 592,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,563,438. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,033,166 shares of company stock valued at $38,059,593 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in IonQ during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of IonQ by 421.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of IonQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.