Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Shares Down 3.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Shares fell 3.4% after Benchmark lowered its price target from $35 to $25 while keeping a buy rating; RGTI traded as low as $14.37 and is well below its 50‑day ($18.91) and 200‑day ($25.82) moving averages.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but skewed positive with 8 Buys, 3 Holds and 1 Sell, giving an average target price of $31.70 and an overall "Moderate Buy" consensus.
• Fundamentals remain weak despite a slight EPS beat (‑$0.03 vs. ‑$0.05), with revenue down 17.9% year‑over‑year and extremely negative margins, and insiders (including the CTO and CFO) recently sold shares while institutions own about 35.4%.

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI - Get Free Report) traded down 3.4% during mid-day trading on Friday after Benchmark lowered their price target on the stock from $35.00 to $25.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. Rigetti Computing traded as low as $14.37 and last traded at $14.88. 24,587,906 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 30,391,480 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.41.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on RGTI. Wedbush lifted their target price on Rigetti Computing from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Rigetti Computing in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a "hold" rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on Rigetti Computing from $50.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen cut shares of Rigetti Computing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Rigetti Computing from $51.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rigetti Computing presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO David Rivas sold 36,719 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.52, for a total transaction of $643,316.88. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 651,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,421,533.28. This represents a 5.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 4,270 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.52, for a total transaction of $74,810.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 175,609 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,076,669.68. The trade was a 2.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rigetti Computing

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RGTI. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 106.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 220,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,748,000 after acquiring an additional 113,644 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 138.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 81,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 47,115 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Rigetti Computing by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 112,409 shares of the company's stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 22,770 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Rigetti Computing by 197.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 25,592 shares of the company's stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 16,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC purchased a new stake in Rigetti Computing during the 1st quarter worth about $3,115,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.38% of the company's stock.

Rigetti Computing Trading Down 3.4%

The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of -21.88 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.82.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.02. Rigetti Computing had a negative return on equity of 14.91% and a negative net margin of 3,111.92%.The business had revenue of $1.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.33 million. The company's revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.34 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.