IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.70, but opened at $20.27. IonQ shares last traded at $19.96, with a volume of 4,681,846 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IONQ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson upgraded IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Craig Hallum increased their price target on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.80.

IonQ Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a PE ratio of -26.86 and a beta of 2.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.72, for a total value of $37,440,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,756,875.36. This represents a 82.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 1,407 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $29,828.40. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 592,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,563,438. The trade was a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in shares of IonQ by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 11,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of IonQ by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 54,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,276,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of IonQ by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of IonQ by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of IonQ by 421.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently 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.