Insider Selling: Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) CTO Sells $97,346.71 in Stock

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) CTO Andrew Joseph Bestwick sold 5,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.81, for a total transaction of $97,346.71. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,036,121 shares in the company, valued at $17,417,194.01. The trade was a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Rigetti Computing Stock Performance

Rigetti Computing stock opened at $17.91 on Friday. Rigetti Computing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $12.53 and a twelve month high of $58.15. The firm has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of -19.90 and a beta of 1.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $17.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.73.

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05). Rigetti Computing had a negative net margin of 2,189.54% and a negative return on equity of 17.50%. The company had revenue of $5.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.09 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rigetti Computing

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RGTI. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Rigetti Computing by 106.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 220,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,748,000 after buying an additional 113,644 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rigetti Computing by 138.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 81,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 47,115 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 112,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,000 after acquiring an additional 22,770 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 197.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 25,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 16,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC acquired a new stake in Rigetti Computing in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,115,000. 35.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Rigetti Computing

Here are the key news stories impacting Rigetti Computing this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rigetti’s second-quarter revenue rose 185.3% year over year to $5.14 million, driven primarily by Novera hardware sales. The company also cited a U.S. Department of Commerce letter of intent for up to $100 million in quantum-computing research support and commercial deliveries involving partners such as Nvidia and HPE. Rigetti operating structure announcement
• Positive Sentiment: The company created a dedicated Systems Delivery organization to support growing demand for on-premises quantum systems. David Rivas became chief operating officer, while Andrew Bestwick became chief technology officer and will focus on processor, chip and hardware development. Investors may view the structure as a way to improve execution and advance Rigetti’s 108-qubit roadmap. Systems Delivery organization announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Several quantum-computing names, including Rigetti, IonQ and Infleqtion, advanced together without company-specific news. The coordinated move suggests renewed speculative interest in the quantum-computing theme and helped lift RGTI. Quantum computing stocks rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Board member Dr. Ray Johnson is expected to resign, adding to investor attention on governance and management changes. The report did not indicate a strategic shift tied to the resignation. Board member resignation
• Negative Sentiment: Although revenue growth was strong, Rigetti’s net loss widened to $52.61 million from $39.65 million a year earlier. Articles also flagged customer concentration and a valuation exceeding roughly 100 times sales, making the stock particularly sensitive to delays in the next system delivery and execution setbacks. Rigetti second-quarter revenue and losses
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded RGTI from “hold” to “strong sell,” reinforcing concerns about profitability and the stock’s elevated sales multiple.
• Negative Sentiment: The CFO, COO and CTO sold shares to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. The sales represented small portions of their remaining holdings, but no insider purchases were reported, which may weigh on sentiment.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on RGTI. Zacks Research lowered Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered Rigetti Computing from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Rigetti Computing from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Monday, July 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rigetti Computing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.67.

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.