Insider Selling: Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) COO Sells $151,748.02 in Stock

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) COO David Rivas sold 9,038 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total transaction of $151,748.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 316,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,320,868.53. This trade represents a 2.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

David Rivas also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 29th, David Rivas sold 499,328 shares of Rigetti Computing stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.40, for a total value of $12,682,931.20.
• On Friday, May 22nd, David Rivas sold 18,759 shares of Rigetti Computing stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.96, for a total value of $430,706.64.

Rigetti Computing Price Performance

RGTI opened at $17.91 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 market cap of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.90 and a beta of 1.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.73.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $5.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.09 million. Rigetti Computing had a negative return on equity of 17.50% and a negative net margin of 2,189.54%. Research analysts expect that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Rigetti Computing

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Rigetti Computing by 106.2% in the 1st 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 during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 138.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 81,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 47,115 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 197.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 25,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 16,998 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rigetti Computing during the first quarter worth $3,115,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.38% of the company’s stock.

Rigetti Computing News Summary

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Rigetti Computing from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Rigetti Computing from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.