Jeffrey Bertelsen Sells 3,860 Shares of Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Stock

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) CFO Jeffrey Bertelsen sold 3,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.89, for a total value of $65,195.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,838,651.63. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Rigetti Computing Price Performance

NASDAQ RGTI opened at $17.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.90 and a beta of 1.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.73. Rigetti Computing, Inc. has a one year low of $12.53 and a one year high of $58.15.

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

Key Stories Impacting Rigetti Computing

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 Trading of Rigetti Computing

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RGTI. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Rigetti Computing during the third quarter worth $30,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rigetti Computing by 403.2% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Rigetti Computing by 454.3% during 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 last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Rigetti Computing by 138.4% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EFG International AG bought a new stake in shares of Rigetti Computing during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 35.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Monday, July 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Rigetti Computing from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rigetti Computing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.