Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.52, but opened at $17.63. Rigetti Computing shares last traded at $16.4880, with a volume of 8,937,850 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RGTI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Rigetti Computing from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Benchmark began coverage on Rigetti Computing in a research note on Monday, July 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Stock Down 1.8%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.55. The firm has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.01 and a beta of 2.00.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.05). The business had revenue of $5.14 million during 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%. Research analysts expect that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Subodh K. Kulkarni sold 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.68, for a total transaction of $1,881,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,411 shares in the company, valued at $2,201,644.48. The trade was a 46.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,521,005. The trade was a 12.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days, insiders sold 163,689 shares of company stock worth $2,570,890. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rigetti Computing

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RGTI. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rigetti Computing by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 65,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 3,283 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in Rigetti Computing during the second quarter worth approximately $365,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Rigetti Computing by 16.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 76,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 11,058 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 85.5% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 12,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 5,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 116.0% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 5,363 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.38% of the company’s stock.

Rigetti Computing Company Profile

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.