IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Up 6.5% After Analyst Upgrade

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 6.5% during trading on Friday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $16.00 to $30.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. IonQ traded as high as $33.34 and last traded at $32.23. Approximately 42,498,737 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average daily volume of 44,682,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.25.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark raised their target price on IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on IonQ in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the 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 directly owns 414,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 21,337 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $634,349.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 571,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,985,373.33. This trade represents a 3.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,507 shares of company stock worth $2,279,308. Company insiders own 11.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IONQ. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in IonQ by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in IonQ by 1,348.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 956 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in IonQ by 3.6% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted 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 worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 3,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in IonQ by 29.3% in 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.42% of the company's stock.

IonQ Trading Up 7.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of -40.10 and a beta of 2.43. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $33.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.45.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 457.85% and a negative return on equity of 36.82%. The firm's revenue was up 102.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.22) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.