IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Down 5.7% – Time to Sell?

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) fell 5.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $40.90 and last traded at $41.77. 15,266,852 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 42% from the average session volume of 10,735,969 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on IonQ in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.60.

IonQ Trading Down 5.7 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.16 and a 200-day moving average of $15.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.57 and a beta of 2.49.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 102.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.22) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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 shares were sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $389,641.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,159 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.72, for a total transaction of $98,184.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 648,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,954,953.76. The trade was a 1.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,223 shares of company stock worth $2,286,983 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IONQ. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in IonQ by 3.6% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,736 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in IonQ by 29.3% during the third 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. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in IonQ by 4,824.2% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 6,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in IonQ by 40.6% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 7,744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

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.