Shares of Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) are rising Thursday after B. Riley Securities upgraded the stock from a neutral to a buy while maintaining a $35 price target.
Positivity For Near-Term Trajectory
B. Riley analyst Craig Ellis said the firm is encouraged with Rigetti’s commercial trajectory following a recent $8.4 million order, which comprises 48% and 36% of the consensus calendar year 2025 low- and high-end consensus range.
Also, the quantum computing sector overall is seeing some positive movement, the analyst noted.
September's Washington DC-based Quantum World Congress drew an estimated 1,000 participants, well-illustrating a rapidly advancing US-friendly-country quantum ecosystem. Laurence Berkeley National Labs is also undergoing workload migration validation, meaning that an evolution from tech research to commercialization may yield contract awards as funding approves.
Additionally, RGTI's market expanded into U.S. academic and international government deals with early-2026 follow-through. Further commercial, U.S. National Labs, U.S. Space-Force aligned AFRL and international government contract signings are in focus through the year.
High Risks For Rigetti Computing
Ellis said Rigetti holds and develops large quantities of protected IP in the forms of patents, copyright, trademarks and trade secrets. The company also has a history of operating losses, which management expects to continue into the future.
Rigetti projects that it will need an additional cash raise to continue its current rate of R&D spending, he noted.
Craig also said the full commercial value of quantum computing is undetermined, and that it’s unclear whether Rigetti's pursued implementation mechanism is an optimal implementation.
More than 80% of the company’s revenue in 2023 was from U.S. government entities, which means that the company is exposed to policy or budget reductions. Its reliance on cloud providers is also not optimal, according to Ellis, as they may prematurely terminate contracts, raise fees or limit available scale.
Rigetti Stock Rises
RGTI Price Action: Rigetti Computing shares were up 4.94% at $24.84 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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