IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $22.07, but opened at $24.31. IonQ shares last traded at $22.77, with a volume of 6,959,576 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on IONQ shares. Craig Hallum increased their price target on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson raised shares of IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, IonQ presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $44.80.

IonQ Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.32 and a beta of 2.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $31.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.27.

Insider Activity

In other IonQ news, Director William F. Scannell acquired 93,066 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.81 per share, with a total value of $2,029,769.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 135,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,945,375.07. The trade was a 221.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 1,407 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $29,828.40. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 592,615 shares in the company, valued at $12,563,438. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,033,166 shares of company stock valued at $38,059,593. Corporate insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

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

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.