Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Trading Up 7.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Rigetti Computing shares rose 7.2% after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from sell to hold. The stock traded as high as $15.40, up from a prior close of $14.25.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, but overall coverage is still Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $32.00. Recent calls ranged from Mizuho cutting its target to $27 to Rosenblatt and Needham reaffirming buy ratings.
• Insider selling has been notable, with director Ray O. Johnson and CTO David Rivas both reducing holdings in recent weeks. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 728,901 shares worth about $17.5 million.

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 7.2% on Tuesday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a sell rating to a hold rating. The company traded as high as $15.40 and last traded at $15.28. 18,670,973 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 34,342,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.25.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on RGTI. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Rigetti Computing from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Northland Securities started coverage on Rigetti Computing in a research report on Monday, April 20th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Insider Activity at Rigetti Computing

In other news, Director Ray O. Johnson sold 122,188 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.30, for a total value of $2,602,604.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 171,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,648,114.90. This trade represents a 41.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO David Rivas sold 499,328 shares of Rigetti Computing stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.40, for a total value of $12,682,931.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 325,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,279,003. This trade represents a 60.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 728,901 shares of company stock worth $17,546,343. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RGTI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Rigetti Computing by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,970,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $796,750,000 after purchasing an additional 3,924,171 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Rigetti Computing by 1,632.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,571,289 shares of the company's stock worth $56,954,000 after buying an additional 2,422,873 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Rigetti Computing during the second quarter worth about $21,887,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Rigetti Computing in the 4th quarter worth about $38,889,000. Finally, Defiance ETFs LLC bought a new position in Rigetti Computing in the 4th quarter worth about $34,267,000. Institutional investors own 35.38% of the company's stock.

Rigetti Computing Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.56 and a beta of 1.95.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 million. Rigetti Computing had a negative return on equity of 10.40% and a negative net margin of 2,789.71%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 198.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.05) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.22 earnings per share 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.

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