IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Up 12.7% – Time to Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares shot up 12.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $37.17 and last traded at $37.02. 5,608,251 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 25,466,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on IONQ. Northland Securities lifted their price objective on IonQ from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $48.50 price target on IonQ in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of IonQ from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $85.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.46.

IonQ Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a PE ratio of -125.58 and a beta of 3.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.54 and a 200 day moving average of $44.12.

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

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In other IonQ news, insider Robert T. Cardillo sold 3,773 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 139,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,984,353.30. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John W. Raymond sold 3,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total value of $209,863.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,148 shares in the company, valued at $4,408,941.48. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 13,102 shares of company stock worth $701,489 in the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in IonQ by 117.4% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Accent Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of IonQ by 171.8% during the 4th quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of IonQ during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 3,800.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of IonQ during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.