IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 3.7% – Time to Sell?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s stock price dropped 3.7% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $64.18 and last traded at $65.68. Approximately 40,008,347 shares traded hands 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of IonQ from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Northland Securities started coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Monday, April 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $48.50 price target on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.63.

IonQ Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $46.01 and a 200 day moving average of $43.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -234.57 and a beta of 3.18.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by ($0.08). IonQ had a net margin of 174.88% and a negative return on equity of 23.20%. The business had revenue of $64.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.14) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 754.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

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

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. 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.