IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 7.8% – Here’s Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares traded down 7.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $34.07 and last traded at $34.55. 9,629,879 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 28,225,967 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on IONQ shares. Benchmark increased their target price on IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

IonQ Stock Down 9.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.76 and a beta of 2.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in IonQ by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,374,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $892,797,000 after acquiring an additional 125,144 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of IonQ by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,466,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,593,000 after purchasing an additional 45,942 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,260,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,240,000 after purchasing an additional 75,596 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in IonQ by 1,310.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,468,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,095,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293,231 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in IonQ by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,934,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,809,000 after buying an additional 216,752 shares during the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.