IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 6.5% – What’s Next?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares dropped 6.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $22.79 and last traded at $23.30. Approximately 8,153,730 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 14,317,611 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark lowered their price target on IonQ from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.80.

IonQ Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $32.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.71 and a beta of 2.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IonQ news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 20,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.57, for a total value of $372,272.79. Following the sale, the executive now owns 572,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,632,587.76. This trade represents a 3.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 11,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.57, for a total value of $217,491.84. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 944,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,539,550.70. This trade represents a 1.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,033,166 shares of company stock worth $38,059,593 in the last quarter. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in IonQ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 41.42% of the stock is owned by 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.