IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $50.15 and last traded at $49.85, with a volume of 4866711 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on IONQ shares. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.60.

IonQ Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -61.39 and a beta of 2.43.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $12.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.56 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 102.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.22) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $389,641.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,319,011.99. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.72, for a total transaction of $115,735.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 638,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,488,001.76. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 110,223 shares of company stock worth $2,286,983. 11.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of IonQ by 9.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,614,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,107,000 after acquiring an additional 135,851 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel purchased a new stake in IonQ in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,036,000. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of IonQ during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,749,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 34.2% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 437,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,825,000 after buying an additional 111,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ in the third quarter worth approximately $1,631,000. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.