IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 7.8% – Here’s Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares fell 7.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $28.12 and last traded at $28.80. 6,567,322 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 26,444,883 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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 target price on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark lifted 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. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

IonQ Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.44. The firm has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.63 and a beta of 2.40.

Insider Activity at IonQ

In related news, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.72, for a total transaction of $290,661.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 926,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 21,337 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $634,349.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 571,321 shares in the company, valued at $16,985,373.33. The trade was a 3.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 44,223 shares of company stock valued at $1,314,652 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in IonQ by 1,310.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,468,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,095,000 after acquiring an additional 2,293,231 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter worth $32,060,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new position in IonQ in the 4th quarter worth $29,519,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in IonQ during the fourth quarter valued at $29,513,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in IonQ by 439.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 857,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,800,000 after purchasing an additional 698,146 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.