IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $18.70, but opened at $20.27. IonQ shares last traded at $19.96, with a volume of 4,681,846 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Director William F. Scannell acquired 93,066 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.81 per share, with a total value of $2,029,769.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 135,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,945,375.07. This trade represents a 221.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on IONQ shares. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark dropped their target price on IonQ from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson upgraded IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.80.

IonQ Stock Down 2.5 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.26 and a beta of 2.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in IonQ during the third quarter valued at approximately $874,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 196.1% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 38,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 25,502 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new position in IonQ in the 3rd quarter worth $92,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in IonQ during the 3rd quarter worth $381,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in IonQ by 9.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,614,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,107,000 after acquiring an additional 135,851 shares during the period. 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.