IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Rise 12.7% - Should You Consider Buying?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) saw its stock increase by 12.7% during trading on Friday. The stock hit a high of $37.28 before settling at $36.29. Total trading volume reached 15,603,210 shares, significantly up by 68% compared to the average session volume of 9,260,636 shares. The previous closing price was $32.21.

Recent Analyst Ratings

Several analysts have recently reassessed IonQ's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered its target price from $11.50 to $8.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating as of August 9th. Meanwhile, Needham & Company LLC raised its target from $13.00 to $18.00, assigning a "buy" rating on November 7th. Craig Hallum also raised their target price from $15.00 to $22.00, giving it a "buy" rating the same day. Benchmark followed suit, increasing their target from $12.00 to $22.00 and rated it a "buy" as well.

IonQ's Stock Performance

The company's stock has a fifty-day moving average of $17.10 and a two-hundred-day moving average of $10.94. IonQ has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of -44.80, and a beta of 1.89.

IonQ recently announced its earnings results on November 6th, reporting an earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.24), slightly below the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.02. The company reported revenue of $12.40 million for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $10.56 million. Year-over-year, IonQ's revenue grew by a remarkable 102.1%, though it faced a net margin of -457.85% and a negative return on equity of -36.82%. Analysts forecast the company will report an EPS of -0.86 for the current fiscal year.

Insider Trading Activity

In related news, Rima Alameddine, IonQ's Chief Revenue Officer, sold 22,875 shares of the company's stock on October 28th for an average price of $17.75, totaling $406,031.25. Following this transaction, she holds 592,658 shares valued at approximately $10.52 million, indicating a 3.72% decrease in her stake. Over the last quarter, insiders sold a total of 66,000 shares worth $972,331, with corporate insiders currently owning 11.60% of the shares.

Institutional Investor Involvement

Hedge funds and institutional investors have recently made adjustments to their positions in IonQ. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake by an astonishing 4,824.2% in the second quarter, acquiring a total of 6,500 shares worth $46,000. Similarly, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in the third quarter for $72,000. Other institutional investors, such as Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC and Impact Partnership Wealth LLC, have also made investments averaging in the range of $67,000 to $91,000. Overall, institutional investors hold 41.42% of IonQ’s stock.

About IonQ, Inc.

IonQ, Inc. is engaged in developing general-purpose quantum computing systems in the United States. The company offers access to its quantum computers with varying qubit capacities through cloud platforms, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft's Azure Quantum, and Google's Cloud Marketplace, in addition to its cloud service.

Investment Considerations

As of now, analysts have a "Moderate Buy" rating for IonQ, but some top-rated analysts suggest looking into alternative stocks that might be more profitable. It could be wise to explore these options before making any investment decisions regarding IonQ.

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