Stock of the Day

May 29, 2025

IonQ (IONQ)

$39.62
-$0.19 (-0.5%)
Market Cap: $8.83B

About IonQ

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. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in College Park, Maryland.

IonQ Bull Case

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in IonQ, Inc.:

  • IonQ, Inc. has recently shown a revenue of $7.57 million for the quarter, surpassing analyst estimates of $7.51 million, indicating strong performance and potential for growth.
  • The company is a leader in the quantum computing space, providing access to advanced quantum computers through major cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, which enhances its market reach and customer base.
  • Recent insider trading activity shows confidence in the company, with Director William F. Scannell purchasing 93,066 shares, reflecting a significant increase in his position, which can be a positive signal for investors.
  • Analysts have a generally favorable outlook, with several firms issuing "buy" ratings and price targets ranging from $30.00 to $50.00, suggesting potential for stock appreciation.
  • The current stock price is around $21.81, which may be considered attractive compared to the higher price targets set by analysts, indicating potential upside for investors.

IonQ Bear Case

Investors should be bearish about investing in IonQ, Inc. for these reasons:

  • IonQ, Inc. reported a negative return on equity of 36.82%, which indicates that the company is not generating profit relative to shareholder equity, raising concerns about its financial health.
  • The company has a negative net margin of 457.85%, suggesting that it is currently spending significantly more than it earns, which could be a red flag for potential investors.
  • Revenue has decreased by 0.2% year-over-year, indicating a potential decline in demand or market challenges that could affect future growth.
  • Analysts forecast a negative earnings per share of -0.86 for the current year, which suggests that the company may continue to face profitability challenges in the near term.
  • Insider selling activity, including a significant sale of 2,000,000 shares by an insider, may raise concerns about the company's future prospects and could signal a lack of confidence among some stakeholders.

Quantum Stocks Skyrocket, Led by IonQ's NVIDIA Declaration

Written By Leo Miller on 5/27/2025

Quantum Computing Quantum computing stocks have become known for their massive volatility, something that rang particularly true on May 22. The most followed pure-play quantum computing stocks skyrocketed that day. This includes IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI), D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS), Quantum Computing (NASDAQ: QUBT), and Quantum-Si (NASDAQ: QSI).

All these names rose by at least 14%

As of the May 23 close, they are all now up at least 60% over the past month. However, three of them are still down in 2025 overall, encapsulating the dramatic swings that characterize quantum stocks.

This volatility is understandable. Quantum computing is still in the early stages of being useful in the real world. Combined, these stocks have generated only around $77 million in revenue over the last 12 months and free cash flow of -$365 million.

Despite this, these five stocks total over $23 billion in market capitalization as of the May 23 close. Naturally, the stock that was the driving force behind the rise, IonQ, was also the largest gainer.

IonQ shares rose over 36%. The company laid out highly ambitious aspirations that got investors very excited.

IonQ’s “Big Green” Vision Creates Billions in Value Overnight

In an interview with financial publication Barron’s, IonQ’s top leader likened the company’s future to one of the world's most successful firms, NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA).

When discussing the future of quantum computing, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Niccolo de Masi told Barron's, “I believe IonQ will be the NVIDIA player. There will be other people who copy us and follow us; they have always copied and followed us.”

This led to IonQ gaining over $3 billion in market capitalization in just one day.

Why Other Quantum Stocks Jumped on the IonQ News

As often happens, other quantum stocks also rallied big-time on the news. Quantum stocks tend to move together because the technology is still far from generating large, steady revenues. Strong positive declarations and events are typically seen as good for all of these firms, signaling a promising path forward for the industry as a whole.

This is especially true as Masi noted that IonQ is “trying to drive ecosystem” around quantum. This suggests that the success of IonQ would lead to the success of other quantum firms and related technologies. This certainly makes some sense when considering the vast ecosystem that has been created around NVIDIA.

NVIDIA’s state-of-the-art graphics processing units (GPUs) lie at the heart of the AI ecosystem. Their success has led to the success of many other firms.

One example is a company like Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET). They make routers and switches that direct the flow of information around data centers.

Arista likely would not have succeeded to the degree it has if not for the downstream demand created for its products due to NVIDIA’s products.

This is true, even though NVIDIA competes with Arista to some extent. Still, Arista benefits as NVIDIA’s chips help grow the overall AI infrastructure pie.

IonQ hopes to establish itself as a similar ecosystem leader as the quantum computing industry progresses.

Short Interest Emphasizes High-Risk-High-Reward Quantum Dynamic

Despite these soaring stock prices, it makes sense to have reasonable apprehension. Becoming the NVIDIA of quantum is exponentially easier said than done.

This statement alone does not seem to justify the roughly $5.2 billion in market value it generated in one day for these five companies combined.

The market's ability to respond in this way is likely one reason why these names all have such high short interest.

Quantum-Si’s percentage of its floated shares sold short is just over 12%, the lowest among these names.

For Rigetti, the figure comes in at 23%. The other three see the number in the mid-to-high teens range. 

Sure, these levels of short interest could lead to short squeeze potential, but they also indicate a large amount of bearish sentiment. At the same time, however, these valuations also show the massive long-term potential many see for quantum computing.

Overall, IonQ’s sky-high ambitions are but another interesting turn in the ever-evolving world of quantum computing.

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