IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Trading Down 39% – What’s Next?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s share price dropped 39% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $25.92 and last traded at $30.27. Approximately 127,081,346 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 179% from the average daily volume of 45,574,754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IONQ shares. Benchmark lifted their price objective on IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Craig Hallum raised their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IonQ presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.60.

IonQ Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.37 and a beta of 2.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.36.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $12.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.56 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 457.85% and a negative return on equity of 36.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 102.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.22) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In other IonQ news, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of IonQ 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 directly owns 926,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,524,108.08. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $389,641.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,223 shares of company stock worth $2,286,983. 11.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Carnegie Investment Counsel bought a new stake in IonQ in the third quarter worth $5,036,000. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in IonQ in the third quarter worth about $3,749,000. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in IonQ during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,865,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in IonQ by 4.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,420,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,640,000 after purchasing an additional 199,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of IonQ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,631,000. 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.