IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Stock Price Down 11.4% – Here’s Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) fell 11.4% on Friday . The company traded as low as $19.37 and last traded at $20.59. 11,750,878 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 15,234,027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on IONQ. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Craig Hallum increased 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.80.

IonQ Trading Down 11.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of -25.44 and a beta of 2.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.34.

Insider Activity

In other IonQ news, Director William F. Scannell acquired 93,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.81 per share, with a total value of $2,029,769.46. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 135,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,945,375.07. The trade was a 221.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 1,407 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total value of $29,828.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 592,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,563,438. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,033,166 shares of company stock valued at $38,059,593 in the last quarter. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in shares of IonQ by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 11,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in IonQ by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 54,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of IonQ by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of IonQ by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in IonQ by 421.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. 41.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.