Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares gapped up Wednesday, opening at $17.88 (prior close $16.87) and trading near $18.47—up about 11.4% on roughly 16.16 million shares.
• Analyst consensus is a "Moderate Buy" (8 Buys, 3 Holds, 1 Sell) with a consensus target of $31.70, though recent price targets and ratings have varied widely among firms.
• The latest quarter beat EPS estimates (‑$0.03 vs. ‑$0.05) but revenue missed ($1.87M vs. $2.33M); the company remains deeply unprofitable (negative net margin ~3,111.92%), and both the CTO and CFO sold shares recently.

Shares of Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.87, but opened at $17.88. Rigetti Computing shares last traded at $18.4710, with a volume of 16,162,825 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RGTI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Monday, December 29th. B. Riley Financial raised shares of Rigetti Computing from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen cut shares of Rigetti Computing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Rigetti Computing from $35.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.70.

Rigetti Computing Trading Up 11.4%

The business's fifty day moving average price is $15.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.80 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Rigetti Computing

In other Rigetti Computing news, CTO David Rivas sold 36,719 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.52, for a total value of $643,316.88. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 651,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,421,533.28. The trade was a 5.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 4,270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $3,076,669.68. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rigetti Computing

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heritage Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Rigetti Computing by 454.3% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 1,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 954 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Rigetti Computing by 138.4% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. EFG International AG acquired a new position in Rigetti Computing in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tsfg LLC increased its stake in Rigetti Computing by 320.5% in the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Rigetti Computing by 180.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 858 shares during the period. 35.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.