Craig Hallum Gives Buy Rating to Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI)

On December 23rd, 2024, Craig Hallum initiated coverage of Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) with a positive outlook. In their report, released on Friday, the brokerage firm assigned a "buy" rating to the company's shares and set a price target of $12.00.

Other analysts have expressed similar positive sentiments regarding Rigetti Computing. For instance, B. Riley recently raised its price target for the company's shares from $3.50 to $4.00 and also assigned a "buy" rating. This increase was announced on November 25th. In addition, Benchmark maintained a "buy" rating on Rigetti and set a price target of $2.50 on November 14th, while Needham & Company reiterated a "buy" rating with a price target of $2.00 on November 13th. Currently, five investment analysts have rated the stock as a buy. According to MarketBeat.com, Rigetti has an average consensus rating of "Buy" along with a consensus target price of $4.80.

Stock Performance of Rigetti Computing

As of Friday, Rigetti's shares opened at $9.37, showcasing a significant increase of 25.4%. The company holds a market capitalization of $1.80 billion and exhibits a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.66. Furthermore, Rigetti's stock has shown notable volatility, with a beta of 2.72. Over the past year, it has fluctuated between a low of $0.66 and a high of $12.75. Currently, the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages for the stock stand at $2.94 and $1.62, respectively. Rigetti also shows strong liquidity with a current ratio and quick ratio of 4.84, alongside a minimal debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Insider Transactions at Rigetti Computing

In other news, insider trading activity has been observed at Rigetti. On November 11th, a major shareholder, Bessemer Venture Partners X. L., sold 1,286,114 shares at an average price of $1.52, totaling approximately $1.95 million. Following this sale, they retained 19,582,218 shares, valued at around $29.76 million, marking a 6.16% reduction in their stake. Additionally, Director Michael S. Clifton sold 125,000 shares at an average price of $4.00 on December 6th, resulting in a transaction valued at $500,000, and a 9.51% decrease in his holdings. In total, insiders have sold 2,955,125 shares valued at about $5.49 million in the last quarter, and currently, insider ownership stands at 2.81% of Rigetti's total shares.

Institutional Investors and Rigetti Computing

Recent restructuring of investment positions has also taken place among institutional investors in Rigetti Computing. In the second quarter, SG Americas Securities LLC initiated a new position valued at $25,000. Meanwhile, Bank of New York Mellon Corp dramatically increased its stake in Rigetti by 3,788.5%, now owning 410,705 shares valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 400,143 shares. Other investors like Rhumbline Advisers and Caprock Group LLC have also acquired new positions, bringing overall institutional ownership of Rigetti to approximately 35.38%.

Company Overview

Rigetti Computing, Inc., operates in the field of quantum computing. The company specializes in developing superconducting quantum processors and provides access to its quantum computers through a cloud-based platform, offering services such as quantum processing units, including their 9-qubit chip and the Ankaa-2 system under the Novera brand.

Rigetti, Investing, Analysts