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

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $49.59, but opened at $38.75. IonQ shares last traded at $30.05, with a volume of 33,781,677 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

IonQ Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.76 and a 200-day moving average of $17.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.10 and a beta of 2.43.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $12.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.56 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 457.85% and a negative return on equity of 36.82%. IonQ’s revenue was up 102.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.22) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $389,641.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,159 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.72, for a total value of $98,184.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 648,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,954,953.76. This trade represents a 1.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,507 shares of company stock valued at $2,279,308. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IONQ. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 135,851 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel purchased a new position in IonQ in the third quarter worth approximately $5,036,000. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in IonQ during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,749,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of IonQ by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 437,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,825,000 after purchasing an additional 111,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of IonQ in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,631,000. 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.