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

Key Points

• Rigetti Computing's shares opened at $40.38 after closing at $36.06, indicating a strong market movement with a last traded price of $39.76 and significant trading volume of over 34 million shares.
• Several analysts upgraded their outlook for Rigetti, with price targets ranging from $18.00 to $50.00, leading to an average target of $28.29 and an overall rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Insider trading activity saw significant share sales, with the CFO and a director offloading a combined 130,214 shares, indicating potential concerns from company leadership about the stock's future performance.

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $36.06, but opened at $40.38. Rigetti Computing shares last traded at $39.76, with a volume of 34,522,096 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Williams Trading set a $50.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Rigetti Computing from $19.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Alliance Global Partners reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Rigetti Computing from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $18.00 target price on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.29.

Rigetti Computing Price Performance

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $27.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.45. The company has a market capitalization of $13.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.92 and a beta of 1.60.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 million. On average, analysts expect that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 3,919 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.84, for a total value of $58,157.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 183,581 shares in the company, valued at $2,724,342.04. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ray O. Johnson sold 126,295 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $2,525,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 293,461 shares in the company, valued at $5,869,220. This represents a 30.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 454,204 shares of company stock valued at $10,300,876. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Rigetti Computing

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rigetti Computing in the second quarter valued at approximately $392,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Rigetti Computing during the second quarter worth approximately $121,000. Cavalier Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Rigetti Computing during the second quarter worth approximately $589,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Rigetti Computing by 176.9% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,955 shares of the company's stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 28,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Rigetti Computing by 666.7% during the second quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,500 shares of the company's stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. 35.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Rigetti Computing

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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