Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Rigetti Computing shares experienced a significant increase following an analyst upgrade from Benchmark, who raised their price target from $20.00 to $50.00, resulting in a stock opening at $43.65.
• Despite the upgrade, there are mixed ratings from other analysts, with six analysts giving a Buy rating and one assigning a Sell rating, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $24.00.
• Insider trading activity showed notable sales, with Director Michael S. Clifton selling 75,000 shares, indicating potential caution among company insiders amidst the stock's recent performance.

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after Benchmark raised their price target on the stock from $20.00 to $50.00. The stock had previously closed at $41.71, but opened at $43.65. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. Rigetti Computing shares last traded at $45.33, with a volume of 32,436,387 shares changing hands.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on RGTI. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Alliance Global Partners reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Rigetti Computing from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Williams Trading set a $20.00 target price on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rigetti Computing has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rigetti Computing

In other news, Director Michael S. Clifton sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $1,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 653,766 shares in the company, valued at $12,421,554. The trade was a 10.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Helene Gail Sandford sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.54, for a total transaction of $463,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 200,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,708,111.24. This represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 457,624 shares of company stock worth $8,498,996 over the last 90 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rigetti Computing

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RGTI. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,551 shares of the company's stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 15,050.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 25,605 shares of the company's stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 17.0% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 273,818 shares of the company's stock worth $2,169,000 after purchasing an additional 39,743 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 59.9% in the first quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 53,442 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 20,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new stake in Rigetti Computing in the first quarter worth $273,000. 35.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rigetti Computing Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average is $20.21 and its 200-day moving average is $14.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -57.60 and a beta of 1.60.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.01. Rigetti Computing had a negative net margin of 2,134.92% and a negative return on equity of 29.05%. The company had revenue of $1.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 million. On average, research analysts expect that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.34 EPS for the current year.

Rigetti Computing Company Profile

Rigetti Computing, Inc, through its subsidiaries, builds quantum computers and the superconducting quantum processors. The company offers cloud in a form of quantum processing unit, such as 9-qubit chip and Ankaa-2 system under the Novera brand name; and sells access to its quantum computers through quantum computing as a service.

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