Wall Street Zen Downgrades Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Rigetti Computing from hold to sell, adding a bearish note to the stock’s recent analyst coverage.
• Despite the downgrade, analyst sentiment is still mixed: Rigetti has an overall Moderate Buy rating, with seven Buy ratings, four Hold ratings, and one Sell rating, and a consensus price target of $30.60.
• Shares fell to $16.54 in recent trading, while the company continues to show strong revenue growth but weak profitability, reporting $4.4 million in quarterly revenue and a net margin that remains deeply negative.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on RGTI. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of Rigetti Computing from $35.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Northland Securities started coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Monday, April 20th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rigetti Computing presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.60.

Rigetti Computing Price Performance

Shares of RGTI stock traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $16.54. The stock had a trading volume of 17,679,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,988,976. The firm has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of -19.01 and a beta of 1.95. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $20.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.33. Rigetti Computing has a fifty-two week low of $12.08 and a fifty-two week high of $58.15.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rigetti Computing news, CTO David Rivas sold 499,328 shares of Rigetti Computing stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.40, for a total transaction of $12,682,931.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 325,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,279,003. The trade was a 60.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ray O. Johnson sold 84,944 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total transaction of $1,745,599.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 95,537 shares in the company, valued at $1,963,285.35. This trade represents a 47.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 728,901 shares of company stock worth $17,546,343 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted 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 in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Rigetti Computing by 138.4% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. PeakShares LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rigetti Computing in the first quarter worth $28,000. EFG International AG acquired a new position in shares of Rigetti Computing in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC lifted its position in shares of Rigetti Computing by 320.5% in the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 35.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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