Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Stock Price Up 4.9% – Still a Buy?

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI)’s stock price shot up 4.9% on Monday . The company traded as high as $16.56 and last traded at $16.53. 15,874,336 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 30,556,818 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RGTI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research lowered Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Benchmark began coverage on Rigetti Computing in a research report on Monday, July 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush initiated coverage on Rigetti Computing in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Seven research 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a PE ratio of -18.19 and a beta of 2.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.55.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.05). The business 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%. As a group, equities 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, CTO Andrew Bestwick sold 5,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $97,346.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,036,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,417,194.01. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 25,000 shares of Rigetti Computing stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 168,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,521,005. This represents a 12.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 163,689 shares of company stock worth $2,570,890. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rigetti Computing

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Rigetti Computing in the second quarter worth approximately $365,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 16.8% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 76,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 11,058 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Rigetti Computing by 85.5% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 12,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 5,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Rigetti Computing by 116.0% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 5,363 shares during the last quarter. 35.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.