Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Stock Falls 2.4% – Should You Sell?

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) shares were down 2.4% on Friday. The company traded as low as $15.15 and last traded at $15.25. 13,603,861 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 29,882,240 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on RGTI. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Monday, July 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Seven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Stock Down 2.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.94 and a beta of 2.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.51.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last announced 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 return on equity of 17.50% and a negative net margin of 2,189.54%.The firm had revenue of $5.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.09 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Andrew Bestwick sold 5,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $97,346.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,036,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,417,194.01. This represents a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Subodh Kulkarni sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.68, for a total transaction of $1,881,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 140,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,201,644.48. This represents a 46.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 163,689 shares of company stock worth $2,570,890 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rigetti Computing

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rigetti Computing by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 65,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 3,283 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rigetti Computing during the second quarter worth $365,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Rigetti Computing by 16.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 76,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 11,058 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Rigetti Computing by 85.5% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 12,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 5,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Rigetti Computing by 116.0% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 5,363 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.38% of the company’s stock.

About Rigetti Computing

Rigetti Computing, Inc is a quantum computing company that develops full-stack quantum computing systems based on superconducting qubit technology. The company designs and manufactures quantum processors, develops the software and control systems used to operate them, and provides access to its quantum computing capabilities through cloud-based services.

Rigetti’s products and services include its quantum processing units (QPUs), quantum-classical computing infrastructure, and the Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform.