IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Up 12.7% - Should You Buy?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) saw its stock price rise by 12.7% during trading on Friday. The stock reached a high of $37.28 before settling at $36.29. A total of 15,603,210 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, marking an increase of 68% compared to the average volume of 9,260,636 shares. This follows a previous closing price of $32.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Various equities research analysts have recently made comments regarding IonQ. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price for IonQ from $11.50 to $8.00, indicating a "neutral" rating. In contrast, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price from $13.00 to $18.00, assigning a "buy" rating in a report issued on November 7th. Similarly, Craig Hallum increased their target from $15.00 to $22.00, also giving it a "buy" rating on the same day. Benchmark followed suit, raising their target price from $12.00 to $22.00 and issuing a "buy" rating as well.

IonQ Price Performance

The company's fifty-day moving average stands at $17.10, while the two-hundred-day moving average is at $10.94. With a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, the stock has a PE ratio of -44.80 and a beta of 1.89.

IonQ last reported its earnings on November 6th, disclosing an earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.24) for the quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.02. The company reported revenue of $12.40 million, exceeding the consensus forecast of $10.56 million. Year-over-year, IonQ's revenue increased by 102.1%. Analysts predict that IonQ will post a fiscal year EPS of -0.86.

Insider Transactions at IonQ

In other news, IonQ's Chief Revenue Officer, Rima Alameddine, sold 22,875 shares on October 28th at an average price of $17.75, totaling $406,031.25. Post-sale, Alameddine retains 592,658 shares valued at approximately $10.52 million, representing a 3.72% reduction in their holding. Additionally, insiders sold 66,000 shares valued at $972,331 in the previous quarter, with corporate insiders currently holding 11.60% of the shares.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

Institutional investors have either enhanced or decreased their stakes in IonQ recently. Notably, Quest Partners LLC significantly increased its stake by 4,824.2% during the second quarter, now holding 6,500 shares worth $46,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in the third quarter valued at $72,000, while Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC also entered a new position valued at around $67,000. In addition, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC and Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired new positions worth approximately $89,000 and $91,000 respectively. Hedge funds and other institutional investors now own 41.42% of IonQ's stock.

IonQ Company Profile

IonQ, Inc. is engaged in developing general-purpose quantum computing systems in the United States. They provide access to quantum computers with varied qubit capacities through cloud services like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft's Azure Quantum, and Google's Cloud Marketplace, among others.

Should You Invest $1,000 in IonQ Right Now?

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IonQ, Stocks, Investing