Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Shares Down 7.2% – What’s Next?

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) was down 7.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $14.05 and last traded at $14.52. 17,856,052 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 33,951,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.64.

Key Rigetti Computing News

Here are the key news stories impacting Rigetti Computing this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $25 price target, implying substantial upside from the recent trading level. The rating reflects expectations that multiple quantum-computing platforms can benefit as enterprise adoption expands. 2 Quantum Stocks in Focus After the AI Infrastructure-led Pullback
• Positive Sentiment: Rigetti is expanding its partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center to build TangleLab, a hybrid quantum-classical supercomputer. The project will use Rigetti’s 9-qubit Novera system and is supported by a $5 million National Science Foundation grant, providing commercial and institutional validation for Rigetti’s technology. Construction is expected to begin in September, with operations targeted for 2027. Rigetti Expands Collaboration with HPE and Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
• Positive Sentiment: Industry research argues that AI adoption and cloud-based services could accelerate commercial quantum-computing demand. Separately, growing concern about quantum threats to existing encryption may increase future demand for quantum-related security solutions, although this is not a direct Rigetti contract or revenue catalyst. Quantum Computing Stocks: Here’s How WisdomTree Sizes Up the Industry
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is increasing ahead of Rigetti’s upcoming second-quarter results. Investors will focus on Novera revenue, Cepheus-1 adoption, technology-roadmap progress and improvements in qubit fidelity. Will Rigetti’s Upcoming Q2 Results Reinforce Its Quantum Growth Story?
• Negative Sentiment: The immediate trading backdrop remains unfavorable: quantum stocks pulled back after a sharp, catalyst-driven rally in the group, while broader concerns about AI infrastructure spending weighed on high-beta technology shares. Rigetti also remains unprofitable, and its shares are trading below both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity shows company executives made no open-market purchases and sold shares during the past six months, a potential sentiment overhang for investors already concerned about valuation and cash burn.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RGTI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Northland Securities initiated coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Rigetti Computing from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Rigetti Computing from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Rigetti Computing Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $19.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of -16.69 and a beta of 1.95.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.01. Rigetti Computing had a negative net margin of 2,789.71% and a negative return on equity of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $4.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.05) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 198.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Rigetti Computing

In other news, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 3,682 shares of Rigetti Computing stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.95, for a total transaction of $84,501.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 171,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,945,724.65. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Ray O. Johnson sold 84,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total transaction of $1,745,599.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 95,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,963,285.35. The trade was a 47.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 728,901 shares of company stock valued at $17,546,343. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Rigetti Computing by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 122,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,367,000 after acquiring an additional 21,300 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Rigetti Computing during the second quarter worth approximately $197,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 6.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 65,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 4,149 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 7.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 199,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,809,000 after purchasing an additional 13,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Encore Global Management LP purchased a new position in Rigetti Computing in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,685,000. 35.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rigetti Computing Company Profile

Rigetti Computing is a pioneering quantum computing company that designs and manufactures superconducting quantum processors alongside a complementary software stack. Founded in 2013 by CEO Chad Rigetti, the company has developed end-to-end quantum systems—from cryogenic hardware to control electronics—to advance the performance and scalability of quantum machines.

At the core of Rigetti’s offering is its Quantum Cloud Services (QCS) platform, which enables developers and enterprises to access quantum processing units (QPUs) and hybrid quantum-classical workflows via the cloud.