TLDR
- IonQ shares surged 10.1% to $69.60 on Thursday with trading volume jumping 57% above normal levels
- Rigetti Computing’s $5.7 million quantum system orders sparked a sector-wide rally across quantum stocks
- Analysts upgraded price targets to $60-$80 range with seven “Buy” ratings on the stock
- Q2 revenue grew 81.6% year-over-year to $20.69 million but earnings missed estimates
- Institutional ownership reached 41.42% while insiders sold $12.6 million worth of shares recently
IonQ stock jumped 10.1% on Thursday, closing at $69.48 after reaching an intraday high of $69.60. The previous close was $63.09.
Trading volume exploded to 36.8 million shares. That’s 57% higher than the average daily volume of 23.4 million shares.
The move came as the entire quantum computing sector rallied. Rigetti Computing triggered the excitement on September 30 by announcing $5.7 million in purchase orders for two quantum systems.
The Rigetti orders are heading to an Asian technology manufacturer and a California AI startup. Both systems are scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2026.
Quantum Sector Momentum Builds
Rigetti stock hit a record high of $35.81 on Thursday, up nearly 15%. The company has gained over 4,470% in the past year.
D-Wave Quantum climbed 12% on Thursday. Quantum Computing added 6.2% as investors piled into the sector.
IonQ now carries a market cap of $20.62 billion. The stock’s beta of 2.60 reflects its volatile nature.
Wall Street analysts are getting bullish. Seven analysts rate IonQ as a “Buy” while five have “Hold” ratings.
Needham & Company leads the pack with an $80 price target. The firm raised its target from $60 on September 15.
Benchmark lifted its target from $55 to $75 on September 16. Cantor Fitzgerald increased its target from $45 to $60 around the same time.
The average analyst price target sits at $58.33. That’s below the current trading price.
Financial Performance and Ownership Changes
IonQ reported Q2 earnings on August 6. Revenue hit $20.69 million, beating expectations of $17.23 million.
The 81.6% year-over-year revenue growth impressed investors. However, earnings per share came in at a loss of $0.70, missing the ($0.13) estimate.
The company posted a negative net margin of 885.21%. Return on equity stands at negative 67.11%.
CFO Thomas Kramer sold 64,578 shares on September 3 at $41.82 per share. The sale totaled $2.7 million.
CRO Rima Alameddine sold 19,976 shares on September 11 at $44.40 each. That transaction was worth $886,934.
Insiders have sold $12.6 million worth of shares over the past 90 days. They currently own 5.20% of the company.
Institutional investors are moving in. Vanguard Group boosted its stake by 15.2% in Q2, now holding 24.7 million shares worth $1.06 billion.
JPMorgan Chase increased its position by 648.5% in Q2. The bank now owns 2.67 million shares valued at $114.9 million.
Amazon bought a new position worth $36.7 million during Q2. Institutional ownership now totals 41.42% of all shares.
The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.28. Its 200-day moving average sits at $39.00.
