IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Benchmark lowered their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $45.00. The stock had previously closed at $29.93, but opened at $28.04. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. IonQ shares last traded at $25.51, with a volume of 8,709,556 shares.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. DA Davidson raised shares of IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IonQ has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other IonQ news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $389,641.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at $12,319,011.99. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.72, for a total transaction of $290,661.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 926,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,524,108.08. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,223 shares of company stock valued at $1,314,652. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in IonQ by 421.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in IonQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new stake in IonQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in IonQ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

IonQ Stock Down 1.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.37 and a beta of 2.41. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $38.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.76.

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.