Insider Selling: Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) CEO Sells $1,881,600.00 in Stock

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) CEO Subodh Kulkarni sold 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.68, for a total value of $1,881,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 140,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,201,644.48. This represents a 46.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Rigetti Computing Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of RGTI opened at $15.27 on Friday. Rigetti Computing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.53 and a 1 year high of $58.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.63. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of -16.97 and a beta of 2.00.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.05). Rigetti Computing had a negative return on equity of 17.50% and a negative net margin of 2,189.54%.The business had revenue of $5.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.09 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

More Rigetti Computing News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rigetti secured a $100 million CHIPS award to expand readout electronics, cryogenic capacity and quantum-chip fabrication. The funding could accelerate production, reduce capital constraints and strengthen Rigetti’s position in the U.S. quantum-computing supply chain. Rigetti Secures $100 Million CHIPS Award to Advance Quantum Scaling
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s second-quarter revenue increased 185% year over year to approximately $5.1 million. An $8.4 million quantum-system order from India is expected to contribute revenue in the fourth quarter, supporting the possibility of stronger near-term growth. Prediction: Rigetti’s Revenue Passes $50 Million a Year Before 2029
• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Commerce Department is reportedly considering up to $300 million in minority equity investments across Rigetti, D-Wave and Quantinuum. A direct government investment could improve Rigetti’s balance sheet and provide additional validation for its technology, although final terms and allocation remain uncertain. Uncle Sam’s Quantum Leap: Feds Fund a $300M Quantum Supercycle
• Neutral Sentiment: A report listed Rigetti’s September short interest at zero shares and a zero-day short-interest ratio. Because the figures conflict with the report’s description of increased short interest, they provide little reliable insight into RGTI’s trading outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Subodh Kulkarni sold 120,000 shares for about $1.9 million, reducing his direct ownership by 46.08%. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which makes it a less definitive bearish signal, but the substantial reduction in insider ownership may still pressure investor sentiment. Rigetti CEO Sells Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Rigetti remains unprofitable, reporting a quarterly loss of $0.05 per share, with analysts expecting a full-year loss. Higher interest-rate expectations also tend to hurt speculative, long-duration companies such as RGTI by increasing financing pressure and reducing the value investors place on future growth.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RGTI shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Rigetti Computing from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Monday, July 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Monday, August 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rigetti Computing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.67.

Institutional Trading of Rigetti Computing

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Heritage Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Rigetti Computing by 454.3% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 1,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 954 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 138.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. PeakShares LLC bought a new stake in Rigetti Computing during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. EFG International AG acquired a new stake in Rigetti Computing in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC increased its position in Rigetti Computing by 320.5% in the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 35.38% of the company’s stock.

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 needed to program and operate them, and provides access to its systems through cloud-based services.

Rigetti’s offerings include its quantum processing units and integrated quantum computing systems, as well as the Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform. Through cloud access and partnerships, organizations can experiment with quantum algorithms and explore potential applications in areas such as optimization, simulation, machine learning and other computationally intensive fields.