IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 1% – Still a Buy?

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shot up 1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $24.12 and last traded at $22.91. 7,580,384 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 14,376,736 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

IonQ Stock Up 0.8 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.96 and a 200 day moving average of $26.23. The firm has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of -28.22 and a beta of 2.50.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In other IonQ news, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 2,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.72, for a total transaction of $37,440,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,756,875.36. The trade was a 82.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 20,047 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.57, for a total value of $372,272.79. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 572,568 shares in the company, valued at $10,632,587.76. This trade represents a 3.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,033,166 shares of company stock worth $38,059,593. Insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in IonQ in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 421.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of IonQ during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.