Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Trading 11.5% Higher – Still a Buy?

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI)’s share price rose 11.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $17.39 and last traded at $16.87. Approximately 56,423,641 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 94% from the average daily volume of 29,155,729 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Rigetti Computing to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rigetti Computing presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.70.

Rigetti Computing Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $15.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.10. The company has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.81 and a beta of 1.82.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.02. Rigetti Computing had a negative return on equity of 14.91% and a negative net margin of 3,111.92%.The business had revenue of $1.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rigetti Computing news, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 4,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was 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 owned 175,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,076,669.68. This trade represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO David Rivas sold 36,719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.52, for a total value of $643,316.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 651,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,421,533.28. This trade represents a 5.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RGTI. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Rigetti Computing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rigetti Computing by 403.2% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rigetti Computing in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 454.3% during the fourth 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. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 138.4% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.38% of the company’s stock.

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.