IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 8.3% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) traded down 8.3% on Thursday after Benchmark lowered their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $45.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. IonQ traded as low as $24.33 and last traded at $27.45. 18,595,897 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 26,113,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.93.

IONQ has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Craig Hallum raised 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $44.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 926,114 shares in the company, valued at $27,524,108.08. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $389,641.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 44,223 shares of company stock worth $1,314,652 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in IonQ in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new position in IonQ during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in IonQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 41.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IonQ Stock Up 2.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of -31.50 and a beta of 2.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.63.

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.