IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 15% – Here’s Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) was up 15% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $25.64 and last traded at $25.60. Approximately 15,422,428 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 5% from the average daily volume of 14,662,720 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on IONQ. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on 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 upgraded IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.80.

IonQ Trading Down 2.5 %

The company has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of -31.44 and a beta of 2.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $32.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In related news, Director William F. Scannell bought 93,066 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.81 per share, with a total value of $2,029,769.46. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 135,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,945,375.07. This represents a 221.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 1,407 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $29,828.40. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 592,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,563,438. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,033,166 shares of company stock valued at $38,059,593 over the last ninety days. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of IonQ by 1,310.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,468,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,095,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293,231 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter worth $32,060,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter worth $29,519,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter worth about $29,513,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of IonQ by 439.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 857,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,800,000 after buying an additional 698,146 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.