IonQ (IONQ) Jumps 11% on Window-Dressing

We recently published Santa Came Early for These 10 Double-Digit Gainers. IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) is one of the best performers on Monday.

IonQ rallied for a third straight day on Monday, jumping 11.10 percent to close at $53.86 apiece, on what appeared to be a quarterly and year-end window dressing.

The practice is common among institutional investors, where they tweak portfolios before the reporting periods by loading up on well-performing stocks and trimming those that underperform to present a stronger portfolio to clients.

IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) rallied alongside its quantum computing counterparts despite the lack of industry and company-specific catalysts to bolster buying appetite, supported by bullish ratings and price targets from analysts.

Late last week, investment firm Jefferies issued a “buy” recommendation on shares of IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) with a price target of $100. The figure marked an 86 percent upside potential from its latest closing price.

According to the investment firm, its outlook reflected IonQ Inc.’s (NYSE:IONQ) trapped-ion infrastructure, which differentiates the company through superior coherence, fidelity, and native all-to-all connectivity capabilities in the industry.

The price target, on the other hand, reflected Jefferies’ discounted 2030 revenue projections, representing approximately 60x enterprise value to sales.

It said it expects further upside potential for the company as it executes its strategy, expands partnerships, and continues to develop the quantum ecosystem.

Another analyst, Wedbush, also gave IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) an outperform rating with a $60 price target, or an 11.4 percent upside from its latest closing price.

While we acknowledge the potential of IONQ as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.