Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Trading Up 8.5% – Should You Buy?

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI)’s share price rose 8.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $17.95 and last traded at $17.94. Approximately 29,874,962 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 33,332,988 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.53.

Key Headlines Impacting Rigetti Computing

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

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue rose 185.3% year over year to $5.14 million, slightly exceeding the approximately $5.09 million consensus estimate. Growth was attributed to shipments of Rigetti’s Novera quantum systems and a broader shift toward commercial revenue. Rigetti Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates on Higher Costs, Revenue Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Investors responded favorably to reports that major quantum-computing orders and Novera shipments are accelerating Rigetti’s commercial mix. The company also highlighted progress on its technology roadmap and improved quantum-fidelity performance. Rigetti Stock Rises as Major Quantum Orders Fuel Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed its Buy rating and set a $40 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. Rigetti ended June with $541.3 million in cash and no debt, providing funding flexibility for research and expansion. Rosenblatt Securities Reaffirms Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: A $5 million National Science Foundation-backed hybrid quantum-classical testbed with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center is scheduled to begin construction in September, reinforcing Rigetti’s government and enterprise relationships. Rigetti Expands Hybrid Quantum HPC Push With New NSF Project
• Neutral Sentiment: Rigetti reported an adjusted loss of $0.05 per share. This matched some consensus estimates but missed the Zacks estimate of a $0.03 loss, creating a mixed earnings signal. Rigetti Reports Q2 Loss, Tops Revenue Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Higher research-and-development and selling, general, and administrative expenses widened losses and continue to weigh on profitability. Analysts also continue to forecast a full-year loss, limiting the stock’s fundamental support.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rigetti Computing from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wedbush started coverage on Rigetti Computing in a report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho decreased 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Stock Up 8.5%

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.06. The company has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.62 and a beta of 1.99.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.05). Rigetti Computing had a negative net margin of 2,789.71% and a negative return on equity of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $5.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.09 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rigetti Computing

In related news, CTO David Rivas sold 499,328 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.40, for a total value of $12,682,931.20. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 325,945 shares in the company, valued at $8,279,003. This represents a 60.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ray O. Johnson sold 122,188 shares of Rigetti Computing stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.30, for a total transaction of $2,602,604.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 171,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,648,114.90. This represents a 41.64% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 728,901 shares of company stock worth $17,546,343. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rigetti Computing

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RGTI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,970,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $796,750,000 after buying an additional 3,924,171 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Rigetti Computing by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,853,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,997,000 after acquiring an additional 946,850 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Rigetti Computing by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,879,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,930,000 after acquiring an additional 196,891 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 90.9% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,081,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,467,483 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Rigetti Computing by 16.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,846,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,785,000 after purchasing an additional 397,905 shares in the last quarter. 35.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.