Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Shares Down 9% – Here’s Why

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) shares were down 9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $13.13 and last traded at $13.22. 19,750,697 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 33,875,160 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.52.

Key Rigetti Computing News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rigetti is expanding its partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise to supply a 9-qubit Novera quantum system for TangleLab, a hybrid quantum-classical supercomputer backed by a U.S. National Science Foundation grant. The project could improve Rigetti’s research visibility and provide access to academic and government users. Rigetti Expands HPE Partnership To Build NSF Backed TangleLab Supercomputer
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $25 price target, indicating substantial potential upside from recently quoted levels. However, the target is an analyst forecast rather than a change to Rigetti’s fundamentals. Rigetti Computing Coverage by Benchmark Co.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry research suggests artificial intelligence and cloud-based services could accelerate commercial quantum-computing adoption, offering a longer-term opportunity for Rigetti and its peers. Quantum Computing Stocks: Here’s How WisdomTree Sizes Up The Industry
• Negative Sentiment: Quantum stocks, including Rigetti, IonQ and D-Wave, have sold off sharply over the past month as investors reduced exposure to richly valued, loss-making technology companies. This sector-wide risk-off move appears to be the main pressure on RGTI. Quantum Computing Stocks Sector Selloff
• Negative Sentiment: Ahead of earnings, analysts favor D-Wave Quantum over Rigetti because of D-Wave’s record bookings, growing backlog and stronger commercial traction. That comparison may be limiting investor enthusiasm for RGTI. RGTI vs. QBTS Ahead of Q2 Earnings

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on RGTI. Benchmark started coverage on Rigetti Computing in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Rigetti Computing from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Rigetti Computing from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Rigetti Computing from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Rigetti Computing Trading Down 9.0%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $19.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.53. The firm has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.20 and a beta of 1.95.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 million. Rigetti Computing had a negative return on equity of 10.40% and a negative net margin of 2,789.71%.The company’s revenue was up 198.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.05) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 3,682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.95, for a total value of $84,501.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 171,927 shares in the company, valued at $3,945,724.65. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Ray O. Johnson sold 122,188 shares of Rigetti Computing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.30, for a total transaction of $2,602,604.40. Following the sale, the director owned 171,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,648,114.90. The trade was a 41.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 728,901 shares of company stock worth $17,546,343. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Rigetti Computing by 106.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 220,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,748,000 after purchasing an additional 113,644 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 138.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 81,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 47,115 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Rigetti Computing by 25.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 112,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 22,770 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rigetti Computing by 197.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 25,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 16,998 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC purchased a new stake in Rigetti Computing during the first quarter worth approximately $3,115,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.38% of the company’s stock.

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.