IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading 8.4% Higher on Insider Buying Activity

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) was up 8.4% on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $21.20 and last traded at $20.27. Approximately 8,496,774 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 13,933,165 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.70.

Specifically, Director William F. Scannell purchased 93,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.81 per share, for a total transaction of $2,029,769.46. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 135,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,945,375.07. The trade was a 221.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONQ has been the topic of several research reports. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson raised shares of IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Benchmark cut their target price on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.80.

IonQ Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $34.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.61. The firm has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.70 and a beta of 2.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IONQ. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in IonQ by 421.0% in the fourth 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. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.