Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Rigetti shares opened sharply higher, rising from a prior close of $16.52 to $17.63 before retreating to about $16.49 on heavy volume.
• Analyst opinions are mixed: seven analysts rate the stock Buy, four Hold and two Sell, producing a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $30.67.
• Rigetti remains unprofitable, reporting a quarterly loss of $0.05 per share and negative margins, while insiders sold 163,689 shares worth approximately $2.57 million over the past 90 days.

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.52, but opened at $17.63. Rigetti Computing shares last traded at $16.4880, with a volume of 8,937,850 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RGTI has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Rigetti Computing from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Rigetti Computing in a report on Monday, July 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Rigetti Computing from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rigetti Computing has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Stock Down 1.8%

The company has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of -18.01 and a beta of 2.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $15.96 and a 200-day moving average of $17.55.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.09 million. Rigetti Computing had a negative return on equity of 17.50% and a negative net margin of 2,189.54%. Research analysts expect that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Rigetti Computing

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Bertelsen sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,067 shares in the company, valued at $2,521,005. This represents a 12.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO David Rivas sold 9,038 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total transaction of $151,748.02. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 316,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,320,868.53. This trade represents a 2.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 163,689 shares of company stock valued at $2,570,890 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rigetti Computing

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Rigetti Computing during the 4th quarter valued at $38,889,000. Clear Street Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 71.1% during the fourth 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. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Rigetti Computing in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,727,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 918,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,352,000 after buying an additional 250,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Rigetti Computing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,937,000. Institutional investors own 35.38% of the company's stock.

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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