IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 5.8% – Should You Sell?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) was down 5.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $43.60 and last traded at $44.1210. Approximately 16,466,624 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 25,205,371 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $49.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Northland Securities lifted their price target on shares of IonQ from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wedbush started coverage on IonQ in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.92.

IonQ Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.15. The firm has a market cap of $16.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.28 and a beta of 3.28.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by $0.23. IonQ had a negative net margin of 553.27% and a negative return on equity of 22.29%. The business had revenue of $80.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.70) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 286.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In related news, insider John W. Raymond sold 3,815 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total transaction of $209,863.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,408,941.48. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gabrielle B. Toledano sold 2,757 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total transaction of $151,662.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $613,581.54. This trade represents a 19.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,329 shares of company stock worth $513,216 over the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in IonQ by 14.3% during the second quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 12,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in IonQ by 4.1% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 81,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,329,000 after acquiring an additional 3,207 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in IonQ by 18.6% in the second quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 120,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,415,000 after acquiring an additional 18,862 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in IonQ by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in IonQ by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 17,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

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. It also provides contracts associated with the design, development, and construction of specialized quantum computing hardware systems; maintenance and support services; and consulting services related to co-developing algorithms on quantum computing systems.