Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Shares Down 5.1% – Time to Sell?

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI)’s stock price fell 5.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $17.52 and last traded at $17.71. 13,654,289 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 32,570,262 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.67.

Key Rigetti Computing News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rigetti created a dedicated Systems Delivery organization to scale deployments of its 9-qubit Novera and 108-qubit Cepheus systems. David Rivas was appointed chief operating officer, while Andrew Bestwick, Ph.D., became chief technology officer to concentrate engineering resources on processor development and the company’s goal of achieving 99.5% median two-qubit gate fidelity on Cepheus-1-108Q. Rigetti systems delivery organization announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue rose to approximately $5.14 million from $1.80 million a year earlier, and the company highlighted new commercial system deliveries with partners including Nvidia and HPE. A U.S. Department of Commerce letter of intent could provide up to $100 million in quantum research-and-development support, although the funding is not yet guaranteed. Rigetti revenue and R&D support article
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary points to bullish Wall Street price targets and potential policy support for quantum computing, but these articles largely reiterate existing views rather than announce new analyst actions or company contracts. Wall Street views on Rigetti
• Negative Sentiment: Rigetti announced that board member Dr. Ray Johnson will resign, creating a potential governance overhang. The announcement comes amid reported insider selling, with no insider purchases listed over the past six months. Rigetti board member resignation
• Negative Sentiment: Although revenue increased sharply, the second-quarter net loss widened to about $52.6 million from $39.7 million, reinforcing concerns about profitability and valuation. Rising long-term Treasury yields have also prompted a rotation away from high-beta, pre-profit technology stocks, including quantum shares. Quantum stocks and rates article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on RGTI. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Rigetti Computing from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rigetti Computing presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Trading Down 2.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of -18.49 and a beta of 1.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.74.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $5.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.09 million. Rigetti Computing had a negative net margin of 2,189.54% and a negative return on equity of 17.50%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO David Rivas sold 499,328 shares of Rigetti Computing stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.40, for a total value of $12,682,931.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 325,945 shares in the company, valued at $8,279,003. The trade was a 60.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 3,682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owned 171,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,945,724.65. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 728,901 shares of company stock worth $17,546,343. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rigetti Computing

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Rigetti Computing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Rigetti Computing by 403.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 454.3% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 1,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Rigetti Computing by 138.4% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the period. Finally, EFG International AG acquired a new position in Rigetti Computing during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 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.