IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading 3.2% Higher – Here’s What Happened

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) rose 3.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $19.18 and last traded at $18.85. Approximately 7,832,180 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 13,906,692 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on IONQ. DA Davidson raised shares of IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $44.80.

IonQ Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.59. The stock has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a PE ratio of -23.06 and a beta of 2.50.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In related news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 21,337 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $634,349.01. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 571,321 shares in the company, valued at $16,985,373.33. The trade was a 3.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,630 shares of company stock valued at $1,344,480. 11.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in IonQ by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 437,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,825,000 after buying an additional 111,435 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in IonQ in the 3rd quarter worth $1,631,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in IonQ by 196.1% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 38,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 25,502 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in IonQ by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,260,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,240,000 after acquiring an additional 75,596 shares during the last quarter. 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.