Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Trading Down 4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) traded down 4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $15.46 and last traded at $15.96. 20,306,699 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 29,875,611 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.62.

Rigetti Computing News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rigetti signed an LOI with the U.S. Department of Commerce for up to $100 million in CHIPS Act funding, which could strengthen its cash position and speed up R&D. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: News that the U.S. is planning a broader $2 billion quantum funding push has boosted the entire quantum computing group, adding momentum to Rigetti shares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from market outlets suggests the move could improve Rigetti’s “more robust balance sheet,” but the deal is still only a letter of intent and not a final signed funding agreement. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The proposed deal includes an equity stake for the government, which could dilute existing shareholders if finalized. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Northland Securities assumed coverage on Rigetti Computing in a report on Monday, April 20th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho reduced their target price on Rigetti Computing from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price objective on Rigetti Computing from $35.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.18.

Rigetti Computing Price Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.84. The firm has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a PE ratio of -25.33 and a beta of 1.79.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.01. Rigetti Computing had a negative return on equity of 10.40% and a negative net margin of 2,789.71%.The business had revenue of $4.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.05) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 198.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Rigetti Computing

In other Rigetti Computing news, CTO David Rivas sold 36,719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.52, for a total transaction of $643,316.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 651,914 shares in the company, valued at $11,421,533.28. The trade was a 5.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 4,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.52, for a total value of $74,810.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 175,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,076,669.68. This trade represents a 2.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of RGTI. Heritage Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Rigetti Computing by 454.3% during 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 period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rigetti Computing by 138.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. PeakShares LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rigetti Computing in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. EFG International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Rigetti Computing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rigetti Computing by 320.5% in the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.