Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $15.20, but opened at $16.39. Rigetti Computing shares last traded at $16.4080, with a volume of 15,232,679 shares traded.

Rigetti Computing News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rigetti signed a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for a $100 million CHIPS Act award. The funding is intended to accelerate research and development focused on scaling superconducting quantum computers and addressing key technical challenges. Rigetti Signs Definitive Agreement for $100M with U.S. Government
• Positive Sentiment: The award is part of a combined $300 million CHIPS Act initiative for Rigetti, D-Wave Quantum and Quantinuum. The U.S. government will receive minority, non-controlling equity stakes, providing Rigetti with substantial capital and an important government endorsement of quantum computing as a strategic technology. U.S. Gets Minority Stakes in D-Wave, Rigetti, Quantinuum
• Neutral Sentiment: The government investment could strengthen Rigetti’s balance sheet and extend its ability to fund development, but the immediate effect on revenue and profitability is uncertain. The equity component may also dilute existing shareholders, depending on the final transaction terms. Quantum Stocks Rally as Commerce Department Takes Equity Stakes
• Negative Sentiment: Rigetti’s CFO sold 25,000 shares for approximately $375,000 on September 3, representing 15% of the CFO’s direct holdings. The sale may raise some concern about insider confidence, although it is small relative to the company’s roughly $5.55 billion market capitalization. Rigetti Computing CFO Sells 25,000 Shares

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Rigetti Computing from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Monday, July 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Rigetti Computing from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rigetti Computing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.66. The stock has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.93 and a beta of 2.00.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David Rivas sold 9,038 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total transaction of $151,748.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 316,907 shares in the company, valued at $5,320,868.53. This represents a 2.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Jeffrey Bertelsen sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,067 shares in the company, valued at $2,521,005. This represents a 12.95% 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. Insiders have sold 128,633 shares of company stock valued at $2,434,889 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rigetti Computing

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 106.2% in the first 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 138.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 81,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 47,115 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 22,770 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 197.8% in the first 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 acquired a new stake in Rigetti Computing in the first quarter worth about $3,115,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.38% of the company’s stock.

About Rigetti Computing

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.