IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) Short Interest Up 19.5% in March

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 27,890,000 shares, an increase of 19.5% from the February 28th total of 23,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 25,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 13.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In related news, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 11,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.57, for a total value of $217,491.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 944,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,539,550.70. This trade represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William F. Scannell purchased 93,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.81 per share, with a total value of $2,029,769.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 135,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,945,375.07. The trade was a 221.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,033,166 shares of company stock valued at $38,059,593. Corporate insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IONQ. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in IonQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $381,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 135,851 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of IonQ by 15.6% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 94,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 12,788 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in IonQ by 7.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 612,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,354,000 after purchasing an additional 41,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of IonQ by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 437,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,825,000 after purchasing an additional 111,435 shares during the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IonQ Stock Performance

IonQ stock traded up $1.91 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.10. 25,164,825 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,177,540. The stock has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.99 and a beta of 2.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.37. IonQ has a 12-month low of $6.22 and a 12-month high of $54.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on IONQ. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson raised shares of IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.80.

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.