IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $39.39, but opened at $36.86. IonQ shares last traded at $36.38, with a volume of 10,890,114 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on IONQ. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC increased 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. Craig Hallum increased their price target on IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark increased their price target on IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on IonQ in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

IonQ Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.09 and a beta of 2.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.62.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. The company had revenue of $12.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.22) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 102.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IonQ news, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $27,524,108.08. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 12,000 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.72, for a total value of $188,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 615,533 shares in the company, valued at $9,676,178.76. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 79,098 shares of company stock valued at $1,909,323. 11.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. City State Bank bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of IonQ by 1,348.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of IonQ by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Institutional investors own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

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.