Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for IonQ (NYSE:IONQ)

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective points to a potential upside of 74.89% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of IonQ in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on IonQ from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of IonQ in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wedbush started coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of IonQ in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.91.

IonQ Stock Performance

IonQ stock opened at $45.74 on Tuesday. IonQ has a fifty-two week low of $17.88 and a fifty-two week high of $84.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.55 and a beta of 2.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $48.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.44.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($3.58) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($3.14). The business had revenue of $39.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.99 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 1,836.32% and a negative return on equity of 127.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 221.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.24) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that IonQ will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other IonQ news, Director Kathryn K. Chou sold 20,000 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total transaction of $1,028,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 60,839 shares in the company, valued at $3,127,124.60. The trade was a 24.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William J. Teuber, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $54.81 per share, for a total transaction of $109,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,413 shares in the company, valued at $351,496.53. This represents a 45.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 125,000 shares of company stock worth $5,992,000. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of IonQ

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONQ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in IonQ by 18.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,354,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,805,314,000 after buying an additional 4,587,260 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of IonQ by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,299,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,878 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,338,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,422,000 after acquiring an additional 705,301 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of IonQ by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,008,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,992,000 after acquiring an additional 333,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of IonQ by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,737,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,327,000 after acquiring an additional 636,482 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about IonQ

Here are the key news stories impacting IonQ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100 price target (roughly 118.6% upside from the referenced price), signaling strong analyst conviction that could attract buyers. Rosenblatt reaffirmed buy, $100 PT
• Positive Sentiment: Needham & Company also reaffirmed a “buy” rating with an $80 target (about 74.9% upside), adding to bullish analyst momentum that supports a recovery narrative. Needham reaffirms buy, $80 PT
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha argues IonQ remains a strong buy after strategic moves — notably the SkyWater acquisition and key hires (including a former Department of War CIO) — and projects a material revenue ramp toward a reported $800M run rate by 2027; it downplays the impact of a DOW ban on Quantum Key Distribution as a niche exposure. IonQ: Critical Department Of War Memo
• Positive Sentiment: Yahoo Finance highlights that the recent pullback may create valuation upside based on DCF scenarios, suggesting the share decline has opened a potential entry point for long‑term investors. Is IonQ Still Attractive After Recent Pullback?
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks compares IonQ with competitors (e.g., QBTS), noting other quantum names may offer steadier near‑term rebounds due to existing revenue and deployments — a reminder that IonQ’s path may be more volatility‑driven and execution‑dependent. QBTS or IONQ: Which Quantum Stock Wins?
• Neutral Sentiment: A broader Zacks analyst blog covering Rigetti, D‑Wave and IonQ provides industry context on partnerships and hybrid strategies; useful for longer‑term comparison but not a direct catalyst. The Zacks Analyst Blog: Rigetti, D-Wave Quantum and IonQ
• Negative Sentiment: 247WallStreet highlights a steep drawdown (“down 50%”) and warns the stock can be volatile and risky—coverage that can reinforce selling pressure from momentum traders and cautious investors. IonQ Stock Is Down 50%: Is It A Buy?

IonQ Company Profile

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.