Andrew Joseph Bestwick Sells 5,791 Shares of Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Stock

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) CTO Andrew Joseph Bestwick sold 5,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $97,346.71. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,036,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,417,194.01. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Rigetti Computing Trading Up 11.4%

Shares of Rigetti Computing stock opened at $17.91 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.73. Rigetti Computing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.53 and a 1-year high of $58.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.90 and a beta of 1.99.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05). The business had revenue of $5.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, research analysts predict that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

More Rigetti Computing News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rigetti’s second-quarter revenue rose 185.3% year over year to $5.14 million, driven primarily by Novera hardware sales. The company also cited a U.S. Department of Commerce letter of intent for up to $100 million in quantum-computing research support and commercial deliveries involving partners such as Nvidia and HPE. Rigetti operating structure announcement
• Positive Sentiment: The company created a dedicated Systems Delivery organization to support growing demand for on-premises quantum systems. David Rivas became chief operating officer, while Andrew Bestwick became chief technology officer and will focus on processor, chip and hardware development. Investors may view the structure as a way to improve execution and advance Rigetti’s 108-qubit roadmap. Systems Delivery organization announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Several quantum-computing names, including Rigetti, IonQ and Infleqtion, advanced together without company-specific news. The coordinated move suggests renewed speculative interest in the quantum-computing theme and helped lift RGTI. Quantum computing stocks rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Board member Dr. Ray Johnson is expected to resign, adding to investor attention on governance and management changes. The report did not indicate a strategic shift tied to the resignation. Board member resignation
• Negative Sentiment: Although revenue growth was strong, Rigetti’s net loss widened to $52.61 million from $39.65 million a year earlier. Articles also flagged customer concentration and a valuation exceeding roughly 100 times sales, making the stock particularly sensitive to delays in the next system delivery and execution setbacks. Rigetti second-quarter revenue and losses
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded RGTI from “hold” to “strong sell,” reinforcing concerns about profitability and the stock’s elevated sales multiple.
• Negative Sentiment: The CFO, COO and CTO sold shares to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. The sales represented small portions of their remaining holdings, but no insider purchases were reported, which may weigh on sentiment.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its stake 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 period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Rigetti Computing by 138.4% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the period. PeakShares LLC bought a new position in Rigetti Computing during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. EFG International AG acquired a new position in Rigetti Computing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC raised its holdings 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RGTI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research downgraded Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Rigetti Computing from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rigetti Computing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.67.

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.