IonQ CEO Niccolo de Masi Sells 16,121 Shares (Tax Withholding)

What Happened

• Niccolo de Masi, President & CEO and a director of IonQ, disposed of 16,121 shares on 2026-09-11 to satisfy tax withholding obligations tied to vested restricted stock units (RSUs). The weighted-average sale price reported was $37.09 per share, for a total proceeds amounting to approximately $597,979. This was a tax-withholding sale (routine disposition), not a purchase.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-09-11; Form 4 filed: 2026-09-15.
• Reported weighted-average price: $37.09; reported price range across multiple trades: $36.35–$37.62.
• Total shares sold (disposed): 16,121; total proceeds ≈ $597,979.
• Transaction code: F — sale of shares to satisfy tax withholding upon RSU vesting (footnote F1).
• Footnote F2: the $37.09 is a weighted average; issuer or SEC staff can request a breakdown of the number of shares sold at each price within the stated range.
• Shares owned after the transaction: not disclosed in the provided filing excerpt.
• Filing timeliness: Form filed four days after the transaction date. Form 4s are generally due within two business days of the transaction, so this filing appears later than the typical reporting window.

Context

• This was a cashless-type sale to cover taxes on vested RSUs, a common and routine administrative transaction that does not necessarily signal a change in insider sentiment.
• For retail investors, purchases by insiders are often more informative about conviction than routine tax-withholding sales; this transaction should be viewed as fulfilling tax obligations rather than a directional bet on the stock.