IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $25.55, but opened at $26.73. IonQ shares last traded at $25.46, with a volume of 12,522,161 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on IONQ. Craig Hallum lifted their price target 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. Benchmark dropped their price objective on IonQ from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson raised IonQ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.80.

IonQ Stock Down 4.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of -29.17 and a beta of 2.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other news, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 2,000,000 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.72, for a total transaction of $37,440,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,756,875.36. This trade represents a 82.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William F. Scannell acquired 93,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 135,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,945,375.07. The trade was a 221.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 2,033,166 shares of company stock valued at $38,059,593 in the last quarter. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IonQ

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ during the 3rd quarter valued at $381,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in IonQ by 9.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,614,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,107,000 after purchasing an additional 135,851 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 94,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 12,788 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of IonQ by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 612,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,354,000 after purchasing an additional 41,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of IonQ by 34.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.