IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 7.8% – Should You Sell?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s stock price dropped 7.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $27.38 and last traded at $27.5070. Approximately 19,205,506 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the average daily volume of 21,199,049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of IonQ from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wedbush started coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $37.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of IonQ in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on IonQ from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IonQ presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.45.

IonQ Trading Down 7.8%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $36.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.39. The company has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.05 and a beta of 2.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IonQ news, insider Robert T. Cardillo sold 5,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.44, for a total value of $203,707.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 112,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,428,757.04. This trade represents a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John W. Raymond sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.34, for a total transaction of $93,352.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 83,963 shares in the company, valued at $2,799,326.42. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 8,581 shares of company stock valued at $316,156 over the last ninety days. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONQ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,774,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,343,000 after acquiring an additional 5,420,037 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter worth $199,753,000. Marex Group plc lifted 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 worth $183,225,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,866 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in IonQ by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,962,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,663,230 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in IonQ by 648.5% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,674,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,917,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317,058 shares during the period. 41.42% of the stock is 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.