Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Trading Down 5.9% – Time to Sell?

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) shares dropped 5.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $15.93 and last traded at $15.94. Approximately 15,032,555 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 32,079,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.94.

Key Stories Impacting Rigetti Computing

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rigetti’s reported $541.3 million cash balance and debt-free balance sheet provide financial flexibility to fund quantum-system development, technology investments and its long-term growth roadmap without relying heavily on new financing. Strong Cash Cushion Strengthens Rigetti’s Long-Term Growth Roadmap
• Positive Sentiment: Rigetti and IonQ reportedly delivered strong second-quarter revenue growth and continued advancing their quantum roadmaps. The longer-term opportunity is also supported by expected spending on post-quantum cybersecurity as governments and businesses update encryption standards. RGTI vs IONQ: Which Quantum Computing Stock Led the Q2 Earnings Race?
• Neutral Sentiment: Rigetti created a chief operating officer position, appointed David Rivas as COO and Andrew Bestwick as chief technology officer. The changes could improve operational execution, although the resignation of board member Dr. Ray Johnson adds a degree of leadership-transition uncertainty. Rigetti Computing Reshapes Leadership Team
• Negative Sentiment: Rigetti’s decline largely reflected broader quantum-stock weakness: D-Wave fell after announcing its CFO’s retirement, while other peers also moved lower. The sector remains highly sensitive to news about management, funding and commercialization. D-Wave Sinks as Its CFO Retires; Rigetti Slides
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a key concern. Despite a roughly 7.7-fold three-year return, recent analysis characterizes RGTI as expensive relative to its fundamentals, leaving the stock vulnerable to profit-taking and higher expectations. Rigetti Stock Looks Fully Valued

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on RGTI. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Rigetti Computing in a research note on Monday, July 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Rigetti Computing from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rigetti Computing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Stock Down 5.9%

The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of -17.71 and a beta of 1.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $17.18 and its 200 day moving average is $17.71.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.05). Rigetti Computing had a negative net margin of 2,189.54% and a negative return on equity of 17.50%. The company had revenue of $5.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.09 million. Equities analysts expect that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rigetti Computing

In related news, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 3,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.89, for a total transaction of $65,195.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,838,651.63. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $1,745,599.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 95,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,963,285.35. This represents a 47.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 725,149 shares of company stock valued at $17,345,425 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rigetti Computing

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of Rigetti Computing by 454.3% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 1,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 138.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. PeakShares LLC purchased a new stake in Rigetti Computing during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. EFG International AG acquired a new position in Rigetti Computing in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC boosted its position in Rigetti Computing by 320.5% in the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.