Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Trading Up 8.1% – Here’s Why

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) shot up 8.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $16.16 and last traded at $15.99. 19,440,639 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 30,701,031 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on RGTI shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Monday, August 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded Rigetti Computing from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seven 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.56. The company has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.51 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 firm had revenue of $5.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 anticipate that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rigetti Computing

In other news, CEO Subodh K. Kulkarni sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.68, for a total transaction of $1,881,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 140,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,201,644.48. This represents a 46.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $375,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,067 shares in the company, valued at $2,521,005. This trade represents 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 248,633 shares of company stock valued at $4,316,489. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RGTI. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rigetti Computing by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,879,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,930,000 after acquiring an additional 196,891 shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 71.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. now owns 2,743,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140,183 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Rigetti Computing during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,889,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Rigetti Computing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,727,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 918,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,352,000 after buying an additional 250,827 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.