Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Trading Down 4% on Analyst Downgrade

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) fell 4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The stock traded as low as $16.67 and last traded at $17.00. Approximately 19,153,316 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 32,501,789 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.71.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on RGTI. Weiss Ratings cut Rigetti Computing from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Friday, August 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rigetti Computing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.67.

Insider Activity at Rigetti Computing

In other news, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 3,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.89, for a total value of $65,195.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,838,651.63. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.30, for a total transaction of $2,602,604.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 171,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,648,114.90. This represents a 41.64% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 725,149 shares of company stock worth $17,345,425. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Rigetti Computing News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quantum stocks surged across the sector despite no major company-specific announcement, suggesting that momentum, speculative interest, and renewed enthusiasm for the quantum-computing theme were major drivers of RGTI’s move. Quantum Computing Stocks Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Rigetti’s second-quarter revenue rose 185.3% year over year to $5.14 million, helped by Novera hardware sales, slightly exceeding analyst expectations. The company also cited commercial system deliveries involving partners such as Nvidia and HPE. RGTI Q2 Revenue Growth
• Positive Sentiment: A U.S. Department of Commerce letter of intent could provide up to $100 million in quantum research-and-development support. Rigetti also reported approximately $541.3 million in liquidity, strengthening its ability to fund development and customer deployments. Rigetti Operating Structure
• Positive Sentiment: The company created a dedicated Systems Delivery organization to handle manufacturing, deployments, and customer support. David Rivas became COO, while Andrew Bestwick became CTO and will focus on chip and processor development. Management said the changes are intended to improve execution and advance the Cepheus-1-108Q roadmap. Rigetti Systems Delivery Organization
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed. Several firms maintain Buy or Outperform ratings with targets near $31 to $40, but the broader consensus is Hold, reflecting substantial uncertainty around commercialization and future growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the revenue increase, Rigetti’s net loss widened to $52.61 million from $39.65 million a year earlier. The stock trades at roughly 100 times sales, and customer concentration makes future system deliveries particularly important. RGTI Valuation and Risks
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded RGTI from Hold to Strong Sell, adding pressure to the valuation debate.
• Negative Sentiment: The CFO, COO, and CTO each sold shares to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. The sales represented small portions of their remaining holdings, but the absence of insider purchases contributes to cautious sentiment.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Rigetti Computing by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,970,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $796,750,000 after acquiring an additional 3,924,171 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rigetti Computing by 1,632.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,571,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,954,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422,873 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rigetti Computing in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,887,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Rigetti Computing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,889,000. Finally, Defiance ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rigetti Computing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,267,000. 35.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rigetti Computing Stock Up 11.4%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $17.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.73. The stock has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.90 and a beta of 1.99.

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

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.