IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Sees Large Volume Increase After Insider Buying Activity

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday following insider buying activity. 13,734,557 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 2% from the previous session’s volume of 14,033,217 shares.The stock last traded at $21.44 and had previously closed at $21.82.

Specifically, Director William F. Scannell acquired 93,066 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.81 per share, for a total transaction of $2,029,769.46. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Craig Hallum lifted 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. DA Davidson raised IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.80.

IonQ Stock Down 3.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.16 and a beta of 2.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IONQ. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of IonQ during the 3rd quarter valued at about $874,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in IonQ by 196.1% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 38,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 25,502 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new position in shares of IonQ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $92,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of IonQ during the third quarter worth $381,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of IonQ by 9.2% in the 3rd 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. 41.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.