IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 0.6% - Here's What Happened

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $42.40 and last traded at $37.72. 14,803,508 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 44% from the average session volume of 10,271,984 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONQ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Craig Hallum upped their price target on IonQ from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson began coverage on IonQ in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.00.

IonQ Trading Up 0.7 %

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $24.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.57. The company has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.62 and a beta of 2.49.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.56 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. IonQ's revenue for the quarter was up 102.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.22) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $389,641.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at $12,319,011.99. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,875 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.72, for a total transaction of $115,735.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 638,908 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,488,001.76. This trade represents a 1.52 % 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 currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,731 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in IonQ by 12.4% in the third quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,736 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of IonQ by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,938 shares of the company's stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 4,288 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 4,824.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 6,368 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 40.6% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 7,744 shares in the last quarter. 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.