Insiders Find Solace Selling US$2.6m In Stock With IonQ's Price Down 22%

Insiders at IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) sold US$2.6m worth of stock at an average price of US$10.22 a share over the past year, making the most of their investment. The company's market valuation decreased by US$770m after the stock price dropped 22% over the past week, but insiders were spared from painful losses.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for IonQ

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At IonQ

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Co-Founder & Chief Scientist, Christopher Monroe, for US$2.2m worth of shares, at about US$10.75 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$13.28). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 5.1% of Christopher Monroe's holding.

IonQ insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like IonQ better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of IonQ

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that IonQ insiders own 9.3% of the company, worth about US$249m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At IonQ Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no IonQ insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. While we feel good about high insider ownership of IonQ, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Be aware that IonQ is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is potentially serious...

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.