Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Stock Falls 3.1% – Time to Sell?

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) was down 3.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $13.74 and last traded at $14.14. 17,036,942 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 29,564,396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RGTI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Rigetti Computing from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Rigetti Computing from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Wedbush started coverage on Rigetti Computing in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Stock Down 3.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.71 and a beta of 2.02. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.49.

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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05). The company had revenue of $5.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.09 million. Rigetti Computing had a negative return on equity of 17.50% and a negative net margin of 2,189.54%. On average, equities analysts expect that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 approximately $5,320,868.53. The trade was a 2.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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, CFO Jeffrey Bertelsen sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 168,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,521,005. This trade 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 sold a total of 163,689 shares of company stock valued at $2,570,890 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rigetti Computing

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Clear Street Group Inc. raised its stake in Rigetti Computing by 71.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. now owns 2,743,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140,183 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its position in Rigetti Computing by 105.3% in the 1st quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 123,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 63,331 shares during the last quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rigetti Computing by 47.7% during the 1st quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 326,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,587,000 after purchasing an additional 105,494 shares during the period. Burr Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rigetti Computing during the third quarter valued at about $6,181,000. Finally, Encore Global Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Rigetti Computing during the first quarter valued at about $1,685,000. 35.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Rigetti Computing

Rigetti Computing, Inc is a quantum computing company that develops full-stack quantum computing systems based on superconducting qubit technology. The company designs and manufactures quantum processors, develops the software and control systems used to operate them, and provides access to its quantum computing capabilities through cloud-based services.

Rigetti’s products and services include its quantum processing units (QPUs), quantum-classical computing infrastructure, and the Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform.