IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 7.8% – Should You Sell?

Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) dropped 7.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $20.84 and last traded at $21.30. Approximately 8,744,256 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 13,826,509 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. DA Davidson raised IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of IonQ from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $44.80.

IonQ Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.57 and a beta of 2.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $38.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other news, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 9,780 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 926,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,524,108.08. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 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 $389,641.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,223 shares of company stock worth $1,314,652. 11.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of IonQ by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,374,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,797,000 after buying an additional 125,144 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of IonQ by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,466,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,593,000 after purchasing an additional 45,942 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in IonQ by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,260,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,240,000 after buying an additional 75,596 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in IonQ by 1,310.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,468,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,095,000 after buying an additional 2,293,231 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in IonQ by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,934,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,809,000 after buying an additional 216,752 shares in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.