Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Trading 11.4% Higher – Here’s Why

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) was up 11.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $18.06 and last traded at $17.91. 22,984,166 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 32,345,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.07.

Key Stories Impacting Rigetti Computing

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rigetti’s second-quarter revenue rose 185.3% year over year to $5.14 million, driven primarily by Novera hardware sales. The company also cited a U.S. Department of Commerce letter of intent for up to $100 million in quantum-computing research support and commercial deliveries involving partners such as Nvidia and HPE. Rigetti operating structure announcement
• Positive Sentiment: The company created a dedicated Systems Delivery organization to support growing demand for on-premises quantum systems. David Rivas became chief operating officer, while Andrew Bestwick became chief technology officer and will focus on processor, chip and hardware development. Investors may view the structure as a way to improve execution and advance Rigetti’s 108-qubit roadmap. Systems Delivery organization announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Several quantum-computing names, including Rigetti, IonQ and Infleqtion, advanced together without company-specific news. The coordinated move suggests renewed speculative interest in the quantum-computing theme and helped lift RGTI. Quantum computing stocks rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Board member Dr. Ray Johnson is expected to resign, adding to investor attention on governance and management changes. The report did not indicate a strategic shift tied to the resignation. Board member resignation
• Negative Sentiment: Although revenue growth was strong, Rigetti’s net loss widened to $52.61 million from $39.65 million a year earlier. Articles also flagged customer concentration and a valuation exceeding roughly 100 times sales, making the stock particularly sensitive to delays in the next system delivery and execution setbacks. Rigetti second-quarter revenue and losses
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded RGTI from “hold” to “strong sell,” reinforcing concerns about profitability and the stock’s elevated sales multiple.
• Negative Sentiment: The CFO, COO and CTO sold shares to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. The sales represented small portions of their remaining holdings, but no insider purchases were reported, which may weigh on sentiment.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Monday, August 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Rigetti Computing from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Rigetti Computing from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of -19.90 and a beta of 1.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.38 and its 200-day moving average is $17.73.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.09 million. On average, analysts forecast that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO David Rivas sold 9,038 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total value of $151,748.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 316,907 shares in the company, valued at $5,320,868.53. The trade was a 2.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Andrew Joseph Bestwick sold 5,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $97,346.71. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,036,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,417,194.01. The trade was a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 725,149 shares of company stock valued at $17,345,425 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rigetti Computing

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,970,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $796,750,000 after purchasing an additional 3,924,171 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Rigetti Computing by 1,632.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,571,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,954,000 after buying an additional 2,422,873 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Rigetti Computing in the 2nd quarter valued at about $21,887,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Rigetti Computing in the 4th quarter worth about $38,889,000. Finally, Defiance ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in Rigetti Computing in the 4th quarter worth about $34,267,000. 35.38% of the stock is currently 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.