Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Trading 25% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Rigetti Computing's share price surged 25% on Monday, reaching a high of $55.23, significantly exceeding its previous closing price of $43.92.
• Researchers have upgraded Rigetti's stock, with Benchmark raising the price target from $20.00 to $50.00 and Needham & Company increasing theirs from $15.00 to $18.00, both recommending a "buy" rating.
• Insider activities included a significant sale of 100,000 shares by Director Thomas J. Iannotti, markedly reducing his stake, which raises concerns amid the stock's recent volatility.

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 25% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $55.23 and last traded at $54.91. 178,634,312 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 145% from the average session volume of 72,950,516 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Rigetti Computing from $20.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Needham & Company LLC lifted 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. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $18.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Alliance Global Partners reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rigetti Computing currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.29.

Rigetti Computing Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $17.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -72.25 and a beta of 1.60. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $22.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.37.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $1.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 million. Rigetti Computing had a negative net margin of 2,134.92% and a negative return on equity of 29.05%. As a group, analysts forecast that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rigetti Computing news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 100,000 shares of Rigetti Computing stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $290,589. The trade was a 87.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 3,919 shares of Rigetti Computing stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.84, for a total transaction of $58,157.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 183,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,724,342.04. This represents a 2.09% 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 in the last 90 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rigetti Computing

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,177,119 shares of the company's stock worth $112,283,000 after buying an additional 2,430,758 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,853,006 shares of the company's stock worth $104,997,000 after buying an additional 946,850 shares in the last quarter. Marex Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Rigetti Computing in the 2nd quarter worth $87,414,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,484,155 shares of the company's stock worth $76,910,000 after buying an additional 1,206,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UNICOM Systems Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 1,235.8% in the 1st quarter. UNICOM Systems Inc. now owns 3,806,935 shares of the company's stock worth $30,151,000 after buying an additional 3,521,935 shares in the last quarter. 35.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.