Key Points
- Director Kathryn Chou sold 5,000 shares on Dec. 22 at an average price of $55 for $275,000, reducing her stake by 7.59% to 60,839 shares (disclosed in an SEC filing).
- Earnings mixed: IonQ posted Q3 EPS of ($3.58) vs. consensus ($0.44), a large miss, while revenue jumped 221.5% YoY to $39.9M, leaving the company with wide operating losses and negative margins.
- Market and analyst backdrop: Several firms raised price targets (average ~ $72) and institutions have accumulated shares, but the consensus rating remains "Hold" and heavy insider selling has been flagged as a potential risk.
IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) Director Kathryn Chou sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $275,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 60,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,346,145. This trade represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.
IonQ Price Performance
NYSE:IONQ opened at $51.34 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $53.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.26. IonQ, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.88 and a fifty-two week high of $84.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.84 billion, a PE ratio of -9.60 and a beta of 2.62.
IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($3.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($3.14). The business had revenue of $39.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.99 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 127.06% and a negative net margin of 1,836.32%.IonQ's revenue for the quarter was up 221.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IONQ. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of IonQ from $32.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on IonQ from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on IonQ from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Mizuho assumed coverage on IonQ in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.08.
Get Our Latest Analysis on IonQ
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in shares of IonQ by 28.4% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in IonQ by 112.5% during the third quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 425 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in IonQ by 4.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,679 shares of the company's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Lauer Wealth LLC lifted its stake in IonQ by 5.5% in the third quarter. Lauer Wealth LLC now owns 4,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of IonQ by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. 41.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
IonQ News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting IonQ this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Confirmed government/infrastructure deal — IonQ finalized delivery of a 100‑qubit Tempo system to KISTI to support South Korea’s National Quantum Computing Center, a high‑visibility commercial win that validates product demand and recurring revenue potential. IonQ and KISTI Finalize Agreement to Deliver 100‑Qubit Quantum System in South Korea
- Positive Sentiment: Commercial partnership extension — IonQ expanded its agreement with QuantumBasel (extension to keep Forte Enterprise and add a Tempo unit), signaling customer stickiness and upsell of next‑gen systems. IonQ Expands its Agreement with QuantumBasel
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional momentum — Multiple buy/outperform ratings and elevated price targets (median ~$72.5) plus large Q3 institutional accumulation by firms like Morgan Stanley, Vanguard and BlackRock support a bullish narrative and provide buying pressure. IonQ Opinions on Recent Quantum Computing Advances
- Neutral Sentiment: Retail-fueled short‑term lift — Holiday “Santa rally” and retail interest have been cited as drivers of recent short-term gains; this can boost price temporarily but isn’t necessarily indicative of sustained fundamentals. D‑Wave, Rigetti, IonQ Stocks Climb In Retail‑Fueled Santa Rally
- Neutral Sentiment: Sector narrative — Broader coverage and comparisons to other quantum names (and even NVDA’s AI narrative framing) raise expectations but also introduce benchmarking risk if execution lags. Quantum Stocks 2026: Can IONQ & QBTS Follow NVDA's Playbook?
- Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling — QuiverQuant flags heavy insider sales in recent months (multiple executives selling large blocks, with only one small purchase), which raises governance/near‑term supply concerns and can exert selling pressure. IonQ Insider Trading Activity
- Negative Sentiment: Earnings execution risk — While revenue growth has been strong year‑over‑year, prior quarterly EPS misses and wide operating losses mean investors remain sensitive to execution and margins; any signs of slower-than-expected commercialization could push the stock lower. IonQ Shares Rise After Revenue Growth Update Report
About IonQ
(
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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. It also provides contracts associated with the design, development, and construction of specialized quantum computing hardware systems; maintenance and support services; and consulting services related to co-developing algorithms on quantum computing systems.
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