What's Behind The Recent Rally In IonQ Stock?

IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares climbed above $47.85 Tuesday morning before pulling back. The stock is still up approximately 13.5% over the past month. Here’s a look at what’s driving the recent price action.

What To Know: IonQ shares got a boost in early June after the company announced results of a collaborative research program with AstraZeneca, Amazon Web Services and Nvidia to develop and demonstrate a quantum-accelerated computational chemistry workflow.

IonQ said the collaboration led to a more than 20-fold boost in speed over traditional approaches to early-stage drug development. By combining IonQ's quantum hardware with AWS and Nvidia platforms, the team cut processing time down from months to just days.

IonQ and other quantum stocks also got a lift following bullish comments from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at Nvidia's GTC developer conference in Paris. The Nvidia CEO said quantum computers were “reaching an inflection point” and could start solving “interesting problems” in the next few years. Several quantum stocks rallied on the bullish commentary from Huang.

In late June, IonQ gained momentum after the Texas Legislature passed HB 4751 — the Texas Quantum Initiative. The bill aims to make Texas a major hub for quantum innovation. IonQ said the bill establishes a structure to tap into the state’s academic and tech industries by offering investment incentives and research opportunities.

On Monday, IonQ shares held up well despite announcing the pricing of a $1 billion equity offering, with shares and pre-funded warrants sold at $55.49 each, or about 25% above the stock's July 3 closing price.

IonQ has a consensus price target of $41.43, according to Benzinga analyst data. A couple of analysts have weighed in on the stock in July, including Benchmark analyst David Williams, who maintained a Buy and raised the target from $50 to $55, and Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Troy Jensen, who initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and set a price target of $45.

IONQ Price Action: At the time of publication, IonQ shares were down 0.25% at $45.08, according to data from Benzinga Pro. The stock traded as high as $47.88 on Tuesday before pulling back.

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