Key Points
IonQ crushed Wall Street's sales and earnings targets for the fourth quarter.
The company also issued issued sales guidance for the year that far exceed expectations.
IonQ's latest business update showed encouraging demand for its services, but the stock remains a high-risk, high-reward play.
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IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) stock is soaring in Thursday's trading following the company's recent quarterly report. The quantum-computing specialist's share price was up 22.7% as of 3:30 p.m. ET despite a bearish backdrop for the broader market. The S&P 500 was down 0.6% at the same point in the day, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.4%.
IonQ's non-GAAP (adjusted) loss per share of $0.20 on revenue of $61.89 million came in far better than the average Wall Street analyst targets, which had called for a per-share loss of $0.23 on sales of $40.38 million. Sales were up an impressive 429% year over year, and margins came in better than anticipated.
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Is IonQ a buy right now?
IonQ's Q4 results and forward guidance show that near-term performance has been far better than expected. The company said that it expects sales for this year to be between $225 million and $245 million. For comparison, the average analyst estimate had only targeted sales of roughly $192.6 million for the year.
With a market capitalization of approximately $14.6 billion after today's rally, IonQ is valued at roughly 62 times the midpoint of management's sales target for the year. For investors seeking exposure to the quantum computing market, the stock looks like a stronger potential portfolio addition on the heels of signs that demand for its technologies and services is ramping at a rapid pace. On the other hand, the company's highly growth-dependent valuation and speculative performance outlook suggest that the stock is probably only a good fit for investors with very high levels of risk tolerance.
Should you buy stock in IonQ right now?
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Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends IonQ. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
