Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Stock Price Up 6.9% – What’s Next?

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI)’s stock price rose 6.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $17.30 and last traded at $17.18. 7,390,312 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 32,257,225 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.07.

Rigetti Computing News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rigetti’s second-quarter 2026 revenue rose 185.3% year over year to $5.14 million, driven largely by Novera hardware sales and slightly exceeding analyst expectations. The company also reported a U.S. Department of Commerce letter of intent for up to $100 million in quantum R&D support, alongside commercial deliveries involving partners such as Nvidia and HPE. Quantum revenue and R&D support
• Positive Sentiment: The company established a dedicated Systems Delivery organization to address increased demand for on-premises quantum systems. David Rivas became chief operating officer, while Andrew Bestwick became chief technology officer, with responsibility for processor and chip development. Management expects the structure to improve customer execution and support its roadmap, including a 99.5% median two-qubit gate-fidelity target for Cepheus-1-108Q. Systems delivery reorganization
• Neutral Sentiment: Rigetti’s reported quarterly loss widened substantially despite the revenue growth, underscoring that the company remains unprofitable. Its roughly $541 million liquidity balance provides funding for development and expansion, but investors will focus on whether future system deliveries can improve operating leverage.
• Neutral Sentiment: Board member Dr. Ray Johnson is expected to resign. The announcement adds to investor attention on governance and management continuity, although no strategic change was disclosed. Board member resignation
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded RGTI from “hold” to “strong sell.” Separate analysis highlights customer concentration and a valuation near 100 times sales, leaving the stock vulnerable if growth or deliveries disappoint. Zacks valuation analysis
• Negative Sentiment: The CFO, COO and CTO each sold shares to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards. The sales were small relative to their remaining holdings, but the lack of reported insider purchases adds to cautious sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Quantum-computing stocks experienced a broad sector selloff, with no company-specific catalyst cited for the decline. This highlights the category’s elevated volatility and risk appetite sensitivity. Quantum stock selloff

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RGTI. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Rigetti Computing from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a research note on Monday, July 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.67.

Rigetti Computing Trading Up 10.1%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.73. The company has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of -19.67 and a beta of 1.99.

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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05). The business had revenue of $5.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.09 million. Rigetti Computing had a negative return on equity of 17.50% and a negative net margin of 2,189.54%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rigetti Computing, Inc. will post -0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO David Rivas sold 9,038 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total transaction of $151,748.02. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 316,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,320,868.53. This represents a 2.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Ray O. Johnson sold 84,944 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $1,745,599.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 95,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,963,285.35. The trade was 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 725,149 shares of company stock valued at $17,345,425 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rigetti Computing

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RGTI. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Rigetti Computing by 454.3% in the fourth 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 boosted its holdings 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 Rigetti Computing during the first quarter worth about $28,000. EFG International AG acquired a new position in Rigetti Computing during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.38% of the company’s stock.

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.