- Morgan Stanley Investment Management disclosed a 4.7% stake, down from roughly 7% reported in August.
- Wolfpack alleged that IonQ lost funding for key Pentagon contracts that it said accounted for up to 86% of revenue from 2022 to 2024.
- The short-seller also flagged a $54.6 million booking shortfall and cited $396.6 million in insider stock sales.
Shares of IonQ, Inc. (IONQ) remained under pressure on Thursday after Morgan Stanley disclosed that it has reduced its ownership in the company below the 5% reporting threshold, extending a selloff that followed a recent short-seller report from Wolfpack Research.
IONQ stock slid 7% on Thursday, extending its losing streak to a third straight session and bringing its cumulative decline to more than 12% over the past three trading days. However, shares of the company have risen over 1% in overnight trading.
Morgan Stanley Drops Below Key Ownership Threshold
In a new filing, Morgan Stanley reported beneficial ownership of about 17.1 million shares of IonQ, representing 4.8% of its outstanding common stock as of Dec. 31, 2025. Morgan Stanley Investment Management separately disclosed a 4.7% stake, or roughly 16.6 million shares, with both entities saying they had fallen below the 5% reporting threshold.
The disclosure comes after an August filing that showed Morgan Stanley Investment Management held about 7% of IonQ’s float as of June 30, 2025.
Wolfpack Alleges Loss Of Pentagon Funding
The stake reduction follows Wolfpack Research’s disclosure last week of a short position in IonQ. In its report, Wolfpack said IonQ lost funding for Pentagon contracts that it said accounted for up to 86% of the company's revenue from 2022 through 2024, leaving what it described as a $54.6 million shortfall in expected bookings for 2025.
Wolfpack said that only $21 million of the company’s reported $75.6 million in Pentagon contracts booked in 2024 was funded in fiscal 2025, and that funding for IonQ’s largest Pentagon contract was absent for a second consecutive year in the fiscal 2026 budget.
The short seller also linked the loss of Pentagon funding to the departure of former CEO Peter Chapman, who stepped down in February 2025. Wolfpack alleged that IonQ insiders sold or authorized the sale of roughly $396.6 million in stock, including sales conducted under newly adopted 10b5-1 trading plans.
Wolfpack further alleged that IonQ sought to backfill lost Pentagon revenue by acquiring non-quantum computing businesses, including Capella, Vector Atomics, and ID Quantique, and criticized the company’s announced acquisition of SkyWater Technology. The firm questioned whether acquiring “low-margin, cyclical businesses” was an appropriate use of capital raised through shareholder dilution.
Wolfpack is not the first firm to take a bearish stance on IonQ. In March 2025, Kerrisdale Capital published a short report questioning the commercial readiness of IonQ’s quantum systems and expressing skepticism about the company’s growth claims and disclosure practices.
How Did Stocktwits Users React?
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for IONQ was ‘bearish’ amid ‘low’ message volume.
One user said, “I am extremely bullish but I will buy at $10”
Another user said, “it’s taking into the woodshed. Probably support $25 in next week”
IONQ stock has declined 18% over the past 12 months.
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