Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Stock Price Down 4% – Here’s What Happened

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) dropped 4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $24.65 and last traded at $24.70. Approximately 33,169,436 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average daily volume of 32,231,594 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.72.

Key Stories Impacting Rigetti Computing

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities initiated coverage with a Buy and a $40 price target (roughly 56% upside from recent levels), citing conviction in quantum names; that initiation and related press (Barron’s, Benzinga, Globe and Mail/MSN pickups) is a major bullish catalyst lifting sentiment. Rosenblatt Buy Coverage (Barron’s)
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt also issued a “strong‑buy” tone in subsequent notes and media pickups, reinforcing the initial upside thesis and likely contributing to intraday buying pressure. Zacks: Rosenblatt strong-buy
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho reiterated its Buy rating, adding to the cluster of broker support that can attract momentum and institutional interest. Mizuho Buy Hold
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst roundups show multiple firms publicly bullish or covering RGTI, which increases visibility and can mechanically raise demand for the shares. Analyst roundup (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector comparison pieces (QBTS, IONQ, RGTI) ahead of Q4 earnings highlight differing fundamentals across quantum players; these previews raise focus on upcoming results but don’t change the thesis until numbers/guidance arrive. Q4 earnings preview (Zacks)
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term technical/price pressure: reports flagged a recent daily decline and “stock falls amid market uptick,” signaling that despite positive coverage the shares have experienced near-term volatility. Recent pullback note (Zacks)
• Negative Sentiment: A critical take from Seeking Alpha calls RGTI “a falling knife,” stressing weak revenue trends, negative margins and execution risk — the kind of analysis that can dampen conviction among value‑oriented investors ahead of quarterly results. Critical analysis (Seeking Alpha)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RGTI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Rigetti Computing in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Rigetti Computing from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.10.

Rigetti Computing Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $25.32 and a 200 day moving average of $24.90. The company has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a PE ratio of -19.69 and a beta of 1.70.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.02. Rigetti Computing had a negative net margin of 4,741.49% and a negative return on equity of 21.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 million. The company’s revenue was down 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.34 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RGTI. Genesis Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rigetti Computing during the fourth quarter valued at about $341,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Rigetti Computing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new position in Rigetti Computing during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Rigetti Computing by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 25,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 2,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polianta Ltd bought a new position in shares of Rigetti Computing during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,368,000. Institutional investors 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.