Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Shares Down 2% – Should You Sell?

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) dropped 2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $14.41 and last traded at $14.79. Approximately 13,555,463 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 30,778,396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RGTI. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings raised Rigetti Computing from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wedbush initiated coverage on Rigetti Computing in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Monday, July 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.00 and a 200 day moving average of $17.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.43 and a beta of 2.00.

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). Rigetti Computing had a negative return on equity of 17.50% and a negative net margin of 2,189.54%.The company had revenue of $5.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.09 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rigetti Computing

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Bertelsen sold 25,000 shares of Rigetti Computing 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,067 shares in the company, valued at $2,521,005. The trade was a 12.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bestwick sold 5,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total value of $97,346.71. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,036,121 shares in the company, valued at $17,417,194.01. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 248,633 shares of company stock worth $4,316,489. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rigetti Computing

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clear Street Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rigetti Computing by 71.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. now owns 2,743,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,761,000 after buying an additional 1,140,183 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its stake in Rigetti Computing by 105.3% in the 1st quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 123,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 63,331 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Rigetti Computing by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 120,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 47,935 shares during the period. Spear Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Rigetti Computing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,062,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Rigetti Computing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,937,000. 35.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Rigetti Computing

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.