Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Stock Falls 4.3% – Here’s What Happened

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI)’s share price fell 4.3% during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $15.89 and last traded at $15.95. Approximately 12,880,586 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 30,227,467 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Rigetti Computing from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Monday, July 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Stock Down 4.3%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.53. The company has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.72 and a beta of 2.00.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.05). Rigetti Computing had a negative net margin of 2,189.54% and a negative return on equity of 17.50%. The business had revenue of $5.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.09 million. On average, analysts forecast that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rigetti Computing

In related news, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,521,005. This trade represents a 12.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO David Rivas sold 9,038 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total value of $151,748.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 316,907 shares in the company, valued at $5,320,868.53. This trade represents a 2.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 163,689 shares of company stock worth $2,570,890 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rigetti Computing

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RGTI. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 5.2% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 65,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 3,283 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Rigetti Computing during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $365,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 76,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 11,058 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Rigetti Computing by 85.5% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 12,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 5,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Rigetti Computing by 116.0% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 5,363 shares during the period. 35.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Rigetti Computing

Rigetti Computing, Inc is a quantum computing company that develops full-stack quantum computing systems based on superconducting qubit technology. The company designs and manufactures quantum processors, develops the software needed to program and operate them, and provides access to its systems through cloud-based services.

Rigetti’s offerings include its quantum processing units and integrated quantum computing systems, as well as the Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform. Through cloud access and partnerships, organizations can experiment with quantum algorithms and explore potential applications in areas such as optimization, simulation, machine learning and other computationally intensive fields.