IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $50.15 and last traded at $49.85, with a volume of 4866711 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on IONQ shares. Craig Hallum increased their target price on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC increased 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. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.60.

IonQ Stock Up 3.6 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of -61.09 and a beta of 2.43.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other IonQ news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,159 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive now owns 648,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,954,953.76. The trade was a 1.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.72, for a total value of $290,661.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 926,114 shares in the company, valued at $27,524,108.08. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 110,223 shares of company stock valued at $2,286,983. 11.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 1,348.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of IonQ by 73.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 4th quarter valued at $216,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of IonQ by 4,824.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 6,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in IonQ in the 3rd quarter worth $72,000. 41.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.