Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Trading Up 2.1% – Here’s Why

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI)’s stock price shot up 2.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $15.32 and last traded at $15.18. 14,069,217 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 31,409,135 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RGTI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Rigetti Computing from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wedbush initiated 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.68. The stock has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.87 and a beta of 2.01.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last announced its 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 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 expect that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ray Johnson sold 122,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.30, for a total value of $2,602,604.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 171,273 shares in the company, valued at $3,648,114.90. This represents a 41.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO David Rivas sold 9,038 shares of Rigetti Computing stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were 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. This represents a 2.77% 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 have sold 225,821 shares of company stock worth $4,662,494. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 113,644 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Rigetti Computing by 138.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 81,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 47,115 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Rigetti Computing by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 112,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 22,770 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Rigetti Computing by 197.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 25,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 16,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC bought a new position in Rigetti Computing in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,115,000. 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.