IonQ's Stock Target Price Raised Significantly by Craig Hallum

Investment analysts at Craig Hallum have upgraded their target price for IonQ (NYSE:IONQ), raising it from $22.00 to $45.00 in a research report released to clients and investors on Friday. The firm has assigned a "buy" rating to the stock, which indicates a favorable outlook for the company. Craig Hallum's new price target suggests there could be a potential upside of approximately 2.88% based on the stock's last closing price.

IonQ has been in the spotlight recently, with several other analysts also expressing positive sentiments. For example, Benchmark increased their target price from $12.00 to $22.00 and maintained a "buy" rating in a note published on November 7th. DA Davidson also initiated coverage on IonQ, providing a "buy" rating along with a price target of $50.00. Similarly, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price from $13.00 to $18.00 while giving a "buy" rating on the same day. Currently, one analyst has rated IonQ with a hold, while four have given it a buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.60.

IonQ Stock Performance

In trading on Friday, IonQ shares increased by 15.8%, reaching a price of $43.74. The trading volume was notable, with around 14,100,090 shares exchanged, surpassing the average volume of 10,337,357. Over the past year, IonQ's stock has experienced significant volatility, having a low of $6.22 and a high of $44.99. The stock is currently trading above its fifty-day moving average of $25.07 and its 200-day moving average of $13.74. The company's market capitalization stands at approximately $9.46 billion, with a P/E ratio of -54.00 and a beta of 2.49.

Latest Earnings Report

IonQ recently released its earnings results on November 6th. The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.24) for the quarter, which was below analysts' expectations of ($0.22) by a margin of two cents. Despite this, IonQ generated revenue of $12.40 million, exceeding the consensus estimate of $10.56 million. The company has shown growth, as its revenue increased by 102.1% year-over-year. During the same quarter last year, the company reported an EPS of ($0.22). Analysts are currently forecasting that IonQ will have an EPS of -0.86 for the current fiscal year.

Insider Trading Activity

In related news, several insider transactions have occurred at IonQ. CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares on December 11th at an average price of $29.73, totaling approximately $389,641.38. Following this sale, he still owns 414,363 shares valued at about $12.32 million, marking a decrease of 3.07% in his holdings. Additionally, Chief Revenue Officer Rima Alameddine sold 21,337 shares on the same day, also at an average price of $29.73, amounting to around $634,349.01. After this transaction, Alameddine retains 571,321 shares worth approximately $16.99 million, reflecting a 3.60% decrease in her holdings. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,223 shares valued at about $2.29 million, while company insiders currently own 11.60% of the total stock.

Institutional Investor Activity

In institutional trading, various investors have made adjustments to their stakes in IonQ. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC took a new position in the company during the third quarter, worth around $91,000. Geode Capital Management LLC also increased its stake by 4.7% in the same period and now owns 4,420,152 shares worth approximately $38.64 million. Other investors include Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd., which purchased a new position valued at about $1.63 million, and Main Management ETF Advisors LLC, with an acquisition worth approximately $1.87 million. Zacks Investment Management has also boosted its holdings by 10%, owning 154,701 shares now valued at $1.35 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 41.42% of IonQ's stock.

Overview of IonQ

IonQ, Inc. focuses on developing general-purpose quantum computing systems in the United States. The company provides access to a range of quantum computers with varying qubit capacities. Users can access IonQ's quantum computers via popular cloud platforms, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft's Azure Quantum, and Google's Cloud Marketplace, along with its own cloud service offerings.

IonQ, Stock, Target