IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Down 3.4% – Time to Sell?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s stock price dropped 3.4% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $30.17 and last traded at $30.81. Approximately 13,855,419 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 20,165,160 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.90.

IonQ News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting IonQ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Won a place on the Missile Defense Agency SHIELD IDIQ (ceiling $151B), giving IonQ formal access to a large federal procurement vehicle and a potential channel for national-security quantum work that could drive multi-year revenue and contract follow-ons. IonQ Selected to Support Missile Defense Agency SHIELD IDIQ Contract
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary highlights large upside: a Zacks roundup flags IonQ among quantum names with >100% average price-target upside for March 2026, reinforcing bullish analyst scenarios and upside expectations. Quantum Outlook for March 2026: 3 Stocks With Over 100% Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also points to rising national-security-led demand as a near-term catalyst for IonQ, making 2026 revenue the clearest short-term performance yardstick; defense interest supports durable commercial demand assumptions. National Security Quantum Demand Could Reshape IonQ Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Street expectations into upcoming earnings are modest, which some analysts (Wedbush) say leaves room for upside if management delivers product or contract updates — this raises event-driven volatility around results. IonQ Seen With Low Expectations Into Earnings; Upside on Positive Updates, Wedbush Says
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail/investor-education pieces highlight IonQ’s technical progress and long-term upside scenarios, which can support speculative retail interest but are unlikely to change fundamentals in the near term. Could Investing $10,000 in IonQ Make You a Millionaire?
• Neutral Sentiment: Another Motley Fool piece reiterates IonQ’s credible hardware progress and cloud distribution — supportive for long-horizon investors but not an immediate catalyst. 2 Quantum Computing Stocks That Could Make a Millionaire
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha preview keeps a sell rating on IonQ due to high valuation despite praising management’s M&A (SkyWater, Oxford Ionics) and operational execution; valuation concerns may cap near-term upside and spur profit-taking. IonQ: The Management Is Doing A Good Job
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term price pressure across the quantum group: a report notes IonQ and peers fell more than 5% last week, reflecting sector-wide profit-taking and risk-off flows that can weigh on IONQ shares even if company-specific news is positive. IonQ & D-Wave Fall More than 5% Last Week While Rigetti Leads Quantum Stocks

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IONQ. Mizuho started coverage on IonQ in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of IonQ in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wedbush started coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IonQ presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.82.

IonQ Stock Down 3.4%

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.76 and a beta of 2.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total value of $1,028,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 60,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,127,124.60. This represents a 24.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in IonQ by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,774,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,420,037 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of IonQ by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,962,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,663,230 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,074,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452,463 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of IonQ during the 4th quarter worth $199,753,000. Finally, Marex Group plc increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 419.1% in the 4th quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 4,083,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,225,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,866 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.