IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Up 14% – Here’s What Happened

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s stock price was up 14% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $26.52 and last traded at $26.22. Approximately 17,090,359 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 113% from the average daily volume of 8,018,491 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IONQ. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of IonQ from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on IonQ from $11.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

IonQ Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $11.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.23.

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

Insider Activity at IonQ

In related news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 22,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.75, for a total transaction of $406,031.25. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 592,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,519,679.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 66,000 shares of company stock valued at $972,331 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in IonQ by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 36,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 3.6% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 10.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 29,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,805 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in IonQ by 12.4% in the third quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 3,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in IonQ by 4,824.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 6,368 shares during the period. 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.