IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 1.6% – What’s Next?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares traded down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $21.78 and last traded at $21.99. 4,961,402 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 13,851,795 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on IONQ. DA Davidson upgraded 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 note on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark cut their price target on IonQ from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.80.

IonQ Stock Up 2.1 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of -28.46 and a beta of 2.40.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in IonQ by 1,310.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,468,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,095,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293,231 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC purchased a new position in IonQ during the 4th quarter worth $32,060,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in IonQ during the 4th quarter worth $29,519,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in IonQ during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,513,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in IonQ by 439.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 857,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,800,000 after buying an additional 698,146 shares during the last quarter. 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.