IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $18.70, but opened at $20.27. IonQ shares last traded at $19.96, with a volume of 4,681,846 shares changing hands.

Specifically, Director William F. Scannell bought 93,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.81 per share, for a total transaction of $2,029,769.46. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 135,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,945,375.07. This represents a 221.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark dropped their price target on IonQ from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. 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. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.80.

IonQ Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.26 and a beta of 2.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.61.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of IonQ by 421.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

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.