Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Stock Price Down 2.9% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) dropped 2.9% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $14.78 and last traded at $15.14. Approximately 27,742,363 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 30,158,889 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Rigetti Computing from $51.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Rigetti Computing from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.70.

Rigetti Computing Stock Down 7.6%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $17.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.81. The company has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.59 and a beta of 1.71.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 4,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.52, for a total transaction of $74,810.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 175,609 shares in the company, valued at $3,076,669.68. The trade was a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO David Rivas sold 36,719 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.52, for a total transaction of $643,316.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rigetti Computing

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heritage Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Rigetti Computing by 454.3% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 1,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rigetti Computing by 138.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. EFG International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Rigetti Computing in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Tsfg LLC boosted 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Rigetti Computing by 180.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. 35.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Rigetti Computing

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.