Benchmark Has Lowered Expectations for IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Benchmark from $50.00 to $45.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Benchmark’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 82.95% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Craig Hallum raised their target price on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.80.

IonQ Price Performance

NYSE IONQ opened at $24.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.37 and a beta of 2.41. IonQ has a 1-year low of $6.22 and a 1-year high of $54.74. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $38.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other IonQ news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $389,641.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,319,011.99. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 21,337 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $634,349.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 571,321 shares in the company, valued at $16,985,373.33. The trade was a 3.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,223 shares of company stock worth $1,314,652. Company insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

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

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.