Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) Shares Up 11.4% – Still a Buy?

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Aug 21st, 2026

Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI – Get Free Report)’s stock price was up 11.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $18.06 and last traded at $17.91. 22,984,166 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 32,345,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.07.

Key Stories Impacting Rigetti Computing

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

Positive Sentiment: Quantum stocks surged across the sector despite no major company-specific announcement, suggesting that momentum, speculative interest, and renewed enthusiasm for the quantum-computing theme were major drivers of RGTI’s move. Quantum Computing Stocks Rally
Positive Sentiment: Rigetti’s second-quarter revenue rose 185.3% year over year to $5.14 million, helped by Novera hardware sales, slightly exceeding analyst expectations. The company also cited commercial system deliveries involving partners such as Nvidia and HPE. RGTI Q2 Revenue Growth
Positive Sentiment: A U.S. Department of Commerce letter of intent could provide up to $100 million in quantum research-and-development support. Rigetti also reported approximately $541.3 million in liquidity, strengthening its ability to fund development and customer deployments. Rigetti Operating Structure
Positive Sentiment: The company created a dedicated Systems Delivery organization to handle manufacturing, deployments, and customer support. David Rivas became COO, while Andrew Bestwick became CTO and will focus on chip and processor development. Management said the changes are intended to improve execution and advance the Cepheus-1-108Q roadmap. Rigetti Systems Delivery Organization
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed. Several firms maintain Buy or Outperform ratings with targets near $31 to $40, but the broader consensus is Hold, reflecting substantial uncertainty around commercialization and future growth.
Negative Sentiment: Despite the revenue increase, Rigetti’s net loss widened to $52.61 million from $39.65 million a year earlier. The stock trades at roughly 100 times sales, and customer concentration makes future system deliveries particularly important. RGTI Valuation and Risks
Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded RGTI from Hold to Strong Sell, adding pressure to the valuation debate.
Negative Sentiment: The CFO, COO, and CTO each sold shares to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. The sales represented small portions of their remaining holdings, but the absence of insider purchases contributes to cautious sentiment.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Friday, August 7th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Monday, July 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research cut Rigetti Computing from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Rigetti Computing in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.67.

Read Our Latest Analysis on RGTI

Rigetti Computing Trading Up 11.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of -19.90 and a beta of 1.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.73.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Andrew Joseph Bestwick sold 5,791 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 1,036,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,417,194.01. This represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Jeffrey A. Bertelsen sold 3,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.89, for a total value of $65,195.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,838,651.63. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 725,149 shares of company stock worth $17,345,425. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rigetti Computing

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

About Rigetti Computing

(Get Free Report)

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.