IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 23,650,000 shares, a decline of 13.1% from the January 15th total of 27,230,000 shares. Approximately 12.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 30,920,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days.

IonQ Price Performance

NYSE:IONQ traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.47. 8,150,097 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,816,476. IonQ has a 12-month low of $6.22 and a 12-month high of $54.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.26 and a beta of 2.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other IonQ news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $389,641.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,319,011.99. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.72, for a total value of $290,661.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 926,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,524,108.08. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,223 shares of company stock valued at $1,314,652 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in IonQ during the 4th quarter valued at about $474,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in IonQ by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,934,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,809,000 after acquiring an additional 216,752 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in IonQ by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 112,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,700,000 after acquiring an additional 7,066 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado bought a new stake in IonQ during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $886,000. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in IonQ during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,128,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on IONQ shares. DA Davidson started coverage on IonQ in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, IonQ presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

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.