IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $26.76, but opened at $27.90. IonQ shares last traded at $25.40, with a volume of 7,984,193 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONQ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on IonQ from $11.50 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Benchmark raised their price objective on IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Craig Hallum boosted their target price on IonQ from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

IonQ Trading Down 2.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.67 and a beta of 1.89. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $12.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.35.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $12.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.56 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 102.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.22) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,875 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.72, for a total value of $115,735.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 638,908 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,488,001.76. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,000 shares of company stock worth $972,331. Insiders own 11.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in IonQ by 4,824.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 6,368 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of IonQ in the third quarter valued at about $72,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of IonQ in the second quarter worth $67,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in IonQ during the third quarter worth about $89,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the third quarter valued at $92,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.