IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 3.7% – What’s Next?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares were down 3.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $64.18 and last traded at $65.68. Approximately 40,008,347 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 50% from the average daily volume of 26,645,986 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on IONQ. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on IonQ from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on IonQ from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded IonQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised IonQ from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.63.

IonQ Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -234.57 and a beta of 3.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.96.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.34) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by ($0.08). IonQ had a negative return on equity of 23.20% and a net margin of 174.88%.The business had revenue of $64.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.14) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 754.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert T. Cardillo sold 3,773 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total value of $188,272.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 139,967 shares in the company, valued at $6,984,353.30. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John W. Raymond sold 2,800 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.34, for a total value of $93,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 83,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,799,326.42. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IONQ. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of IonQ by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 134,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,962,000 after purchasing an additional 14,898 shares during the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of IonQ in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $630,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 106.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after buying an additional 29,513 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 24.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 450,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,932,000 after buying an additional 87,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in IonQ by 30.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 46,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,032,000 after buying an additional 10,881 shares during the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by 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. 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.