IonQ Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:IONQ)

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 42,889 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 61% compared to the typical volume of 26,560 call options.

IonQ Stock Up 10.9 %

IONQ stock traded up $2.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.00. The company had a trading volume of 20,835,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,307,395. IonQ has a 1-year low of $6.22 and a 1-year high of $29.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $12.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.47. The firm has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of -35.80 and a beta of 1.89.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last issued its quarterly 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). IonQ had a negative return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. The firm had revenue of $12.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.22) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 102.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that IonQ will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on IONQ. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on IonQ from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In other news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,159 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.72, for a total transaction of $98,184.48. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 648,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,954,953.76. The trade was a 1.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 66,000 shares of company stock valued at $972,331 in the last three months. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in IonQ by 4,824.2% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 6,368 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in IonQ in the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in IonQ during the third quarter worth approximately $72,000. Mosley Wealth Management acquired a new position in IonQ in the 2nd quarter valued at $81,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ in the second quarter valued at $88,000. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.