Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 204,465 Shares of IonQ, Inc. $IONQ

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) by 696.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 233,829 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 204,465 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of IonQ worth $14,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Amazon Com Inc. bought a new stake in IonQ during the second quarter worth about $36,705,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in IonQ during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $806,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in IonQ during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,104,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in IonQ in the 2nd quarter valued at $114,767,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in IonQ by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 47,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after purchasing an additional 17,215 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William J. Teuber, Jr. purchased 2,000 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $54.81 per share, for a total transaction of $109,620.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $351,496.53. This trade represents a 45.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total value of $1,028,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 60,839 shares in the company, valued at $3,127,124.60. The trade was a 24.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 125,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,992,000 in the last 90 days. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush started coverage on IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of IonQ from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of IonQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.91.

IonQ Trading Down 7.7%

Shares of NYSE IONQ opened at $39.90 on Friday. IonQ, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.88 and a 1 year high of $84.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $48.55 and its 200-day moving average is $51.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.86 billion, a PE ratio of -7.46 and a beta of 2.63.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($3.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($3.14). IonQ had a negative net margin of 1,836.32% and a negative return on equity of 127.06%. The business had revenue of $39.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.24) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 221.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about IonQ

Here are the key news stories impacting IonQ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: IonQ is pushing a full‑stack quantum platform via new acquisitions that expand its hardware, software and systems capabilities — a strategic move that supports longer‑term revenue diversification and positioning in quantum computing. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: The company is acquiring Seed Innovations, a Colorado software firm, to bolster its software stack shortly after announcing a related $1.8B semiconductor deal — an execution step investors may view as building product depth and customer solutions. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Needham & Company reiterated a Buy rating on IonQ, signaling continued institutional confidence in the company’s long‑term thesis and growth prospects. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities also reaffirmed a Buy rating, which may support investor sentiment despite near‑term volatility. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fundamentals remain mixed: revenue has surged year‑over‑year, but IonQ reported a large EPS miss last quarter and remains unprofitable — creating near‑term uncertainty while the company invests in platform expansion.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: recent trading shows a notable intraday decline and above‑average volume, indicating investors are selling into the news or taking profits after the stock’s prior run; this weakness was highlighted in coverage noting a >5% drop on a recent session. Read More.

IonQ 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. It also provides contracts associated with the design, development, and construction of specialized quantum computing hardware systems; maintenance and support services; and consulting services related to co-developing algorithms on quantum computing systems.