Verition Fund Management LLC Acquires 54,827 Shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ)

Verition Fund Management LLC has recently acquired a position in IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ) during the third quarter, as noted in their latest Form 13F submission to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investment involved purchasing 54,827 shares of IonQ, which is valued at roughly $479,000.

In addition to Verition Fund Management, several other institutional investors have also engaged in buying and selling transactions involving IonQ shares. For instance, Carnegie Investment Counsel established a new position by investing $5,036,000 in IonQ during the same quarter. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd also secured a new stake worth $3,749,000. Furthermore, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in IonQ by 9.2%, owning now 1,614,034 shares valued at $14,107,000 after acquiring an additional 135,851 shares. Bank of New York Mellon Corp also increased its stake by 16.7% in the second quarter, bringing its total to 916,536 shares worth $6,443,000 following the acquisition of 131,439 additional shares. Additionally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. expanded its holdings by 34.2% during the third quarter, now owning 437,596 shares valued at around $3,825,000. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds control approximately 41.42% of IonQ’s stock.

Performance of IonQ Stock

On Thursday, NYSE IONQ began trading at $30.00. IonQ, Inc. recorded a twelve-month low of $6.22, while its twelve-month high reached $38.45. The company currently has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, with a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of -35.30 and a beta of 2.47. As for stock price trends, it has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.43.

IonQ’s most recent quarterly earnings report was released on November 6th, indicating that the firm had earnings per share (EPS) of -$0.24 for the quarter, which was below the analysts’ consensus estimate of -$0.22 by $0.02. The company suffered a significant net margin loss of 457.85% and a negative return on equity of 36.82%. Revenue for the quarter amounted to $12.40 million, surpassing analysts' estimates of $10.56 million. In comparison, during the same quarter last year, IonQ posted earnings per share of -$0.22. Notably, the company’s quarterly revenue demonstrated a year-over-year increase of 102.1%. Research analysts predict that IonQ will report an EPS of -0.86 for the current fiscal year.

Insider Trading Activity

Related to insider trading, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,875 shares on October 16th for an average price of $11.72, totaling $115,735. Following this sale, Alameddine’s holdings in the company decreased by 1.52%, now owning 638,908 shares valued at approximately $7,488,001.76. This transaction was made public via a filing with the SEC. In the last quarter, insiders sold a total of 66,000 shares worth around $972,331. Overall, insiders possess 11.60% of IonQ’s shares.

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Adjustments

Various equity analysts have offered insights on IonQ’s stock. Benchmark recently raised its price target from $12.00 to $22.00, rating IonQ as a “buy” in a report dated November 7th. Needham & Company LLC also increased its price target from $13.00 to $18.00, reaffirming its “buy” rating. Similarly, Craig Hallum has adjusted its price objective for IonQ from $15.00 to $22.00, also providing a “buy” rating in a report published on November 7th.

Overview of IonQ, Inc.

IonQ, Inc. is focused on developing general-purpose quantum computing systems in the United States. The company provides access to quantum computers of varying qubit capacities through cloud platforms, including Amazon Web Services (AWS) Amazon Braket, Microsoft’s Azure Quantum, and Google’s Cloud Marketplace, along with its own cloud services.

Conclusion

With significant movements in shareholding from institutional investors and robust support from equity analysts regarding price targets, IonQ showcases a growing interest in the quantum computing sector. The company remains positioned to meet the increasing demands for advanced computing solutions, driving investor attention and market activity.

Verition, IonQ, Shares