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

Key Points

• Rigetti Computing shares fell 2% to $14.79 on Wednesday, with trading volume well below its average. The stock remains below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $30.67, while recent firms issued ratings ranging from Strong Sell to Outperform.
• The company matched quarterly EPS expectations and slightly exceeded revenue forecasts, but continues to report significant losses, negative margins and return on equity. Insiders have sold 248,633 shares worth approximately $4.3 million over the past three months.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on RGTI. Zacks Research downgraded Rigetti Computing from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wedbush assumed coverage on Rigetti Computing in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Rigetti Computing from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Rigetti Computing from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Stock Down 2.0%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.61. The company has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.43 and a beta of 2.00.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05). Rigetti Computing had a negative return on equity of 17.50% and a negative net margin of 2,189.54%.The business had revenue of $5.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.09 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rigetti Computing

In other Rigetti Computing news, Director Ray O. Johnson sold 84,944 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total transaction of $1,745,599.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 95,537 shares in the company, valued at $1,963,285.35. The trade was a 47.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO David Rivas sold 9,038 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total value of $151,748.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 316,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,320,868.53. The trade was a 2.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 248,633 shares of company stock worth $4,316,489. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 3,283 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rigetti Computing in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $365,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 76,752 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,483,000 after buying an additional 11,058 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 85.5% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 12,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 5,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,363 shares in the last quarter. 35.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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