Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Buys 42,737 Shares of IonQ, Inc. $IONQ

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) by 664.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,171 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 42,737 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in IonQ were worth $3,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings 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 raised its position in IonQ by 112.5% in the third quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Lauer Wealth LLC lifted its stake in IonQ by 5.5% during the third quarter. Lauer Wealth LLC now owns 4,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in IonQ by 11.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.42% of the company’s stock.

IonQ Trading Up 6.8%

IONQ opened at $50.80 on Friday. IonQ, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.88 and a 1-year high of $84.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.65 billion, a PE ratio of -9.50 and a beta of 2.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.27.

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 company had revenue of $39.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.99 million. IonQ had a negative net margin of 1,836.32% and a negative return on equity of 127.06%. IonQ’s revenue for the quarter was up 221.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on IONQ. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on IonQ from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on IonQ in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of IonQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of IonQ from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IonQ currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.91.

Key Stories Impacting IonQ

Here are the key news stories impacting IonQ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks notes IonQ enters Q4 2025 earnings season with surging revenues and raised guidance, which supports the revenue-growth story and helps explain renewed buying interest. QBTS, RGTI, IONQ: Buy, Sell or Hold Ahead of Q4 Earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst write-ups (Zacks) and comparison pieces show IonQ outperforming peers on gate fidelity, execution speed and revenue momentum — a narrative that can justify multiple expansions versus other quantum pure-plays. Is IonQ a Buy in 2026? How the Stock Stacks Up Against RGTI, QBTS
• Positive Sentiment: Technical milestone: reports cite IonQ achieving extremely high two-qubit gate fidelity (99.99% in 2025). Higher fidelity improves commercial applicability and strengthens the company’s competitive moat. 2 No-Brainer Quantum Computing Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist for 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Management / talent: IonQ named Katie Arrington (former DoD tech leader) as CIO — a hire that can accelerate government and defense customer relationships and signal stronger commercialization/government contract prospects. IonQ Names Former DOW Tech Leader Katie Arrington as CIO
• Neutral Sentiment: Media/analyst momentum: The Fool and Barron’s pieces promote quantum names broadly and highlight buy calls or price predictions — these increase retail and institutional attention but are not direct proof of near-term earnings upside. Rigetti and Quantum Computing Stocks Are a Buy, Says Analyst. Look Past the Criticism of Both.
• Neutral Sentiment: TV coverage: CNBC’s “Final Trade” mentioned IONQ among active tickers — TV chatter boosts short-term flows and visibility but is a noisy driver versus fundamentals. Final Trade: IONQ, URA, KRE, GM

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

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

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.