Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Stock Price Down 5.5% Following Insider Selling

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) shares fell 5.5% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $15.67 and last traded at $16.07. Approximately 19,809,523 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 32,422,594 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.00.

Specifically, CTO Andrew Joseph 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 sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,036,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,417,194.01. This represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO David Rivas sold 9,038 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total transaction of $151,748.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer 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. 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. In other news, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 3,860 shares of Rigetti Computing stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.89, for a total transaction of $65,195.40. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on RGTI. Wall Street Zen lowered Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Rigetti Computing from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Rigetti Computing in a report on Monday, July 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Rigetti Computing from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wedbush started coverage on Rigetti Computing in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.67.

Key Headlines Impacting Rigetti Computing

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rigetti created a dedicated Systems Delivery organization to support growing demand for on-premises quantum systems. David Rivas was appointed Chief Operating Officer to oversee manufacturing, delivery, customer-facing engineering, and commercial operations, while Andrew Bestwick, Ph.D., became Chief Technology Officer to focus on chip and processor development. The company is targeting 99.5% median two-qubit gate fidelity for its Cepheus-1-108Q system. Rigetti operating structure announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue increased to $5.14 million from $1.80 million a year earlier, and Rigetti received a U.S. Department of Commerce letter of intent for up to $100 million in quantum research and development support. New system deliveries involving partners including Nvidia and HPE also strengthen the commercial-growth narrative, although the company remains deeply unprofitable. Rigetti revenue and R&D support article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly bullish, with previously published price targets ranging from $25 to $40, well above recent trading levels. However, these targets are based on expectations for future technology and commercial execution rather than current profitability. Rigetti analyst views
• Negative Sentiment: Investors viewed the separation of delivery and chip-development leadership as a major shake-up, intensifying concerns that Rigetti may have needed a reorganization to address execution challenges. The upcoming resignation of board member Dr. Ray Johnson adds to the perception of leadership turnover. Rigetti leadership shake-up article
• Negative Sentiment: Quantum-computing stocks were sold broadly, including Rigetti, IonQ, and D-Wave, without a clear company-specific catalyst. The sector remains highly sensitive to interest rates and risk appetite because these companies are pre-profit and richly valued. Quantum stock selloff article
• Negative Sentiment: Despite strong revenue growth, Rigetti’s second-quarter net loss widened to $52.61 million from $39.65 million a year earlier. The company’s continuing losses and reported insider selling further reinforce investor concerns about valuation and cash usage.

Rigetti Computing Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.53 and its 200 day moving average is $17.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of -17.86 and a beta of 1.99.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.09 million. Analysts expect that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Rigetti Computing

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RGTI. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Rigetti Computing by 106.2% during 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 boosted its position in shares of Rigetti Computing by 138.9% in the 1st 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 during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Rigetti Computing by 25.4% in the 1st 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 during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Rigetti Computing by 197.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 25,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 16,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC purchased a new position in Rigetti Computing during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,115,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.