IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Down 44.2% – Here’s Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares were down 44.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $26.14 and last traded at $27.66. Approximately 70,797,290 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 114% from the average daily volume of 33,124,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

IonQ Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.45. The stock has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of -40.10 and a beta of 2.43.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its quarterly 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). IonQ had a negative net margin of 457.85% and a negative return on equity of 36.82%. The company had revenue of $12.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.22) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 102.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,159 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.72, for a total value of $98,184.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 648,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,954,953.76. The trade was a 1.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,507 shares of company stock valued at $2,279,308 in the last three months. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of IonQ by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 916,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,443,000 after purchasing an additional 131,439 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 40.6% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 7,744 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 13.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 295,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,080,000 after acquiring an additional 35,158 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of IonQ by 3.6% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 6,368 shares in 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.