IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 1.7% – Should You Sell?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares traded down 1.7% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $32.84 and last traded at $33.56. 6,755,606 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 27,658,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on IONQ. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

IonQ Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a PE ratio of -41.62 and a beta of 2.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 21,337 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $634,349.01. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 571,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,985,373.33. This represents a 3.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $389,641.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 44,223 shares of company stock valued at $1,314,652. Company insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONQ. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of IonQ by 9.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,614,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,107,000 after acquiring an additional 135,851 shares during the period. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in IonQ during the 3rd quarter worth $3,749,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in IonQ by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 437,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,825,000 after purchasing an additional 111,435 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in IonQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,631,000. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of IonQ by 196.1% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 38,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 25,502 shares during the period. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.