Strong Liquidity, Fed Cut Boost IONQ: Time to Buy the Stock or Wait?

Over the past three months, IonQ’s IONQ shares have surged 93.8%, far outpacing the broader Computer - Integrated Systems industry’s 12.3% rise, the Computer and Technology sector’s 17.6% gain and the S&P 500’s 11.4% rally. This strong rally underscores growing investor confidence in the company’s strategic execution. Fueling this momentum is IonQ’s solid quantum computing and networking roadmap, supported by a solid liquidity position that gives it the resources to invest in innovation, acquisitions and global growth.

Let’s delve deeper.

Three-Month Share Performance of IONQ

IonQ’s Strengthened Liquidity Underpins Its Roadmap

IonQ exited the second quarter of 2025 with the strongest balance sheet in its history, providing a solid footing for executing its ambitious quantum computing and networking roadmap. As of June 30, the company reported $656.8 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments. Shortly after the quarter end, IonQ completed a $1 billion equity offering from a single institutional investor, priced at a 25% premium to the prior trading session. This transaction, described as the largest investment by a single institution in the quantum industry, boosted IonQ’s pro-forma cash position to $1.6 billion as of July 9, 2025.

The company noted that the capital raise not only strengthens its finances but also signals strong investor confidence in its long-term future. The equity deal included seven-year warrants at $99.88 per share. Management emphasized that this funding makes IonQ the most well-capitalized pure-play quantum provider today, giving it the ability to invest heavily in R&D, ecosystem growth and global expansion.

This strong liquidity directly supports IonQ’s roadmap, scaling systems to 800 logical qubits by 2027 and 80,000 by 2030, integrating Oxford Ionics’ ion-trap-on-a-chip technology (newly-completed acquisition) and advancing its quantum networking ambitions through acquisitions like Lightsynq and Capella. With resources to back both organic development and acquisitions, IonQ is well-positioned to accelerate progress toward practical quantum advantage while strengthening its leadership in secure quantum networking.

Fed's 2025 Rate Cuts Strengthen Liquidity Tailwinds

In September 2025, the Federal Reserve enacted a 25-basis-point rate cut, lowering the federal funds target to 4.00%–4.25%, and signaled that two further cuts may follow later this year. This monetary easing will likely reduce borrowing costs and improve liquidity across capital-intensive sectors.

Apart from IONQ, other quantum firms such as Rigetti Computing RGTI and D-Wave Quantum QBTS stand to benefit as well. Rigetti, with $571.6 million in cash as of the last-reported second quarter, is already investing in scaling its technology, while D-Wave’s stock rallied significantly following the rate cut, reflecting renewed investor optimism in its growth trajectory.

Meanwhile, for IONQ, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 loss per share has widened over the past 30 days from 66 cents to 97 cents, as you can see below. The estimated figure, however, indicates a narrower loss than the year-ago reported loss of $1.56 per share.

Expensive Valuation

IonQ’s forward 12-month price/sales (P/S) ratio of 148.67 is far above the industry average, as you can see below.

However, the stock remained undervalued compared to D-Wave’s P/S of 271.67X and Rigetti’s P/S of 532.39X.

Wait for a Better Entry Point

While IonQ’s strong liquidity, roadmap and competitive position highlight its long-term potential, the stock’s steep valuation and widening loss estimates suggest near-term caution. With a forward P/S multiple already far above the industry average, the risk of overextension remains. With a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), the shares may stabilize before offering a better buying opportunity. Investors might consider waiting for a lower price to get a more attractive entry point. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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