IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $37.50, but opened at $40.71. IonQ shares last traded at $41.25, with a volume of 6,194,135 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on IONQ shares. Benchmark boosted their price target on IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on IonQ in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on IonQ from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

IonQ Stock Up 1.1 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $24.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.57. The company has a market capitalization of $8.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -46.81 and a beta of 2.49.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $12.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.56 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 457.85% and a negative return on equity of 36.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 102.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.22) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In other IonQ news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,159 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.72, for a total value of $98,184.48. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 648,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,954,953.76. The trade was a 1.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $389,641.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,223 shares of company stock valued at $2,286,983 over the last ninety days. 11.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in IonQ by 9.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,614,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,107,000 after purchasing an additional 135,851 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel purchased a new position in shares of IonQ during the 3rd quarter worth $5,036,000. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,749,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of IonQ by 34.2% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 437,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,825,000 after purchasing an additional 111,435 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in IonQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,631,000. Institutional investors own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

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.