Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Stock Price Down 8.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) dropped 8.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $19.46 and last traded at $19.44. 20,692,583 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 35,942,316 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.28.

Rigetti Computing News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rigetti continues to benefit from renewed U.S. government support for quantum computing, including executive orders aimed at boosting industry development and post-quantum security, which could improve funding and commercialization prospects.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted Rigetti’s cash position, analyst-implied upside, and chiplet momentum as reasons it may remain one of the stronger pure-play quantum names after Quantinuum’s IPO.
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s last reported quarter beat expectations on both EPS and revenue, showing that execution is improving even though profitability remains deeply negative.
• Neutral Sentiment: Quantum-computing stocks have been trading in a mixed fashion overall, suggesting investors are still sorting out which companies have the best long-term fundamentals versus speculative hype.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Ray O. Johnson sold 84,944 shares of Rigetti stock in a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transaction, which can weigh on sentiment even if the sale was planned in advance.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts remain cautious about near-term valuation, with some recent coverage warning that rich pricing and macro pressure could limit upside despite the company’s long-term promise.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on RGTI shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Rigetti Computing from $35.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Northland Securities began coverage on Rigetti Computing in a research report on Monday, April 20th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.18.

Rigetti Computing Stock Down 8.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.19 and a beta of 1.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.99.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.01. 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 $4.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.05) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 198.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 3,682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.95, for a total transaction of $84,501.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 171,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,945,724.65. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Ray O. Johnson sold 122,188 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.30, for a total value of $2,602,604.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 171,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,648,114.90. The trade was a 41.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 728,901 shares of company stock worth $17,546,343 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rigetti Computing

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rigetti Computing by 6.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 65,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 4,149 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Rigetti Computing by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 199,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,809,000 after buying an additional 13,666 shares during the period. Encore Global Management LP purchased a new stake in Rigetti Computing during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,685,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 124.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 60,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $843,000 after buying an additional 33,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,121 shares in the last quarter. 35.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.