IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $30.25, but opened at $31.99. IonQ shares last traded at $31.02, with a volume of 23,483,565 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.00.

IonQ Stock Up 7.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of -40.10 and a beta of 2.43. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $34.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.63.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $12.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.56 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. The firm's revenue was up 102.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.22) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other IonQ news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the firm's 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 directly owns 414,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $27,524,108.08. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 109,507 shares of company stock valued at $2,279,308. Corporate insiders own 11.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in IonQ by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 1,348.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 956 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,550 shares of the company's stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 1,731 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of IonQ by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 3,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 4,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.42% of the company's stock.

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.