Rigetti Computing (RGTI) on Solana

Rigetti Computing CEO Subodh K. Kulkarni sold 120,000 shares on September 9, 2026 for approximately $1.9 million at a weighted average price of $15.68 per share. The sale came one day after Rigetti announced a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for $100 million in federal funding. Kulkarni exercised 150,000 options at $0.96 per share and sold 120,000 of the resulting shares while retaining the remaining 30,000, and the transaction was executed under a Rule 10b5-1 plan adopted on June 10, 2026 — making it a pre-scheduled, non-discretionary sale rather than a reactive decision.

The $100 million Commerce Department agreement represents a meaningful cash infusion for a company reporting $5.1 million in Q2 revenue against a $52.6 million net loss, and adds to Rigetti's broader government contract momentum as federal interest in domestic quantum computing capabilities grows. With a market cap around $5 billion, the timing of the pre-planned share liquidation against a major funding announcement is notable optics, but the 10b5-1 structure limits the interpretive weight of the sale as a near-term sentiment signal from the CEO.

Rigetti Computing has created a Chief Operating Officer position and elevated David Rivas into the role. Rivas, who joined the company in 2019 overseeing engineering and quantum cloud operations before becoming CTO in 2023, will now focus on delivery and day-to-day operational performance. Andrew Bestwick has been named the new CTO, taking over leadership of the technology organization. Board member Dr. Ray Johnson also resigned as part of the transition.

The restructuring signals Rigetti's intent to sharpen execution discipline as it scales commercial contracts — including Novera quantum system deployments and government R&D initiatives — while managing persistent operating losses. Placing a long-tenured technical operator in the COO seat rather than hiring externally suggests the company is prioritizing delivery accountability alongside its ongoing push for fabrication investment and government grant programs.

Rigetti Computing COO David Rivas sold 9,038 shares on August 20, 2026, at a weighted average price of $16.79 per share, yielding approximately $152,000 in proceeds. The transaction was disclosed via SEC Form 4 filing and was classified as non-discretionary — a standard "sell to cover" execution triggered automatically by the vesting of restricted stock units (RSUs) to satisfy the resulting tax withholding obligations, rather than a voluntary market bet.

Rivas retained 316,907 shares after the sale, representing a roughly 0.095% ownership stake valued near $5.1 million at the August 20 closing price of $16.07 — a level near the lower end of RGTI's 52-week range. The sale provides little bearish signal on its own given its mechanical nature, and the company has recently reported Q2 2026 revenue of $5.1 million, up from $1.8 million a year earlier, alongside ongoing Cepheus 1 hardware development and a notable partnership with Nvidia in the quantum computing space.

Rigetti Computing is pursuing a potential $100 million U.S. government grant while reporting fresh progress on its Cepheus 1 108-qubit quantum processor and deepening its partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The developments have lifted RGTI shares roughly 12.6% over the past seven days to $18.62 as of August 14, 2026, extending a multi-week run despite the stock remaining down about 21% year-to-date.

One valuation analysis places Rigetti's fair value at $16.00 per share, suggesting the stock is approximately 16% overvalued at current levels. The assessment frames RGTI as a pre-scale quantum hardware company whose market cap of roughly $6.2 billion depends far more on future technical and commercial milestones than on near-term fundamentals — full-year 2025 revenue came in at $7.1 million, and the company continues to carry significant losses.

The Motley Fool's Anthony Di Pizio published a bearish 12-month outlook on Rigetti Computing, arguing the stock's valuation is fundamentally disconnected from its business reality. With a market cap near $6 billion against Q2 2026 revenue of just $5.1 million and operating expenses of $30.2 million, Rigetti trades at a price-to-sales ratio of 437—roughly 70 times the Nasdaq-100's P/S of 6.2. Even using analyst projections of $44.1 million in 2027 revenue, Di Pizio calculates a forward P/S of 133, which he characterizes as unsustainable.

Di Pizio warns the stock could fall below $10 over the next year, citing the unpredictable timeline for quantum computing commercialization and the likelihood of additional shareholder dilution as Rigetti continues burning cash. The company holds $541 million on hand, but net losses reached $52.6 million in Q2 alone, raising questions about runway as the sector awaits meaningful commercial demand for quantum systems.

Rigetti Computing carries a roughly $6.16 billion market cap against 2025 revenue of just $7.1 million, producing an extreme price-to-sales ratio that a Simply Wall St valuation framework scored at zero out of six checks. The stock's price-to-book ratio of 11.1x sits well above the semiconductor industry average of 5.3x and the peer-group average of 6.9x, reinforcing the assessment that RGTI is not a bargain on conventional metrics — investors are, in effect, underwriting a substantial amount of future success that has not yet materialized.

The bull case rests on international expansion through an Italian subsidiary, deepening relationships with government-backed quantum funding programs, and a broadening institutional contract pipeline, with some models placing the stock as much as 39% undervalued on a discounted forward-cash-flow basis. Bears counter that the gap between valuation and current revenue leaves virtually no margin for execution error, with one model flagging the stock as 12% overvalued. The key inflection point either way is whether Rigetti can convert early government quantum system deployments into predictable, recurring revenue streams — without that transition, the premium embedded in today's price has little near-term anchor.

Rigetti Computing (RGTI) has shed roughly 21% year-to-date in 2026 — the steepest decline among the major listed quantum computing names — as the sector works through a "post-hype valuation reset" following a strong late-2025 rally. IonQ has dropped about 7% and D-Wave Quantum around 16% over the same stretch. The common headwinds are high operating expenses, heavy technology investment requirements, and investor uncertainty over when these companies will convert research-stage relationships into durable commercial revenue.

Despite the drawdown, retail sentiment has held firm. A Stocktwits community poll found 81% of respondents remained bullish on quantum technology, suggesting traders are separating near-term price weakness from long-horizon conviction on the technology's potential. Wedbush added a structural endorsement this week, initiating Rigetti with an Outperform rating and a $40 price target — alongside similar ratings for IonQ and D-Wave Quantum — and framing the sector's near-term test as broadening beyond government and research partnerships into repeatable commercial deals.

Rigetti Computing (RGTI) shares climbed 5.7% after the company was selected to provide its 9-qubit Novera quantum processor as the core hardware for TangleLab, a hybrid supercomputing testbed backed by a $5 million National Science Foundation grant. The project — a collaboration with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center — aims to integrate Rigetti's quantum system with high-performance classical computing infrastructure, positioning the company's hardware at the center of a publicly funded research initiative.

The selection provides a degree of institutional validation for Rigetti's technology at a time when the company is working to demonstrate real-world utility for its quantum systems. Rigetti's newer 108-qubit Cepheus 1 platform, released in April 2026, targets more demanding commercial workloads, while the Novera system's role in TangleLab keeps the company visible within government-backed quantum research programs. Analysts note that while the deal reinforces Rigetti's relevance in the hybrid quantum-classical computing space, it does not materially alter the company's dependence on government contracts or reduce its ongoing operating losses.

Simply Wall St analysis cited by Yahoo Finance puts Rigetti Computing's (RGTI) fair value at $16 per share against a recent close of $14.15, implying the stock is roughly 11.6% undervalued. The estimate rests on three forward-looking inputs: fast top-line expansion, an anticipated future margin shift, and a valuation framework tied to quantum hardware milestones rather than current profitability. Rigetti's recent launch of a 108-qubit processor and a stated ambition to achieve quantum advantage within three years are the operational anchors underpinning that framework.

The tension for investors is stark. Full-year 2025 revenue came in at just $7.1 million against a market capitalization near $6.16 billion, and the company continues to burn cash while trading at a price-to-book ratio of 8.1x — well above the semiconductor sector average of 5x. RGTI shares are down roughly 23% over the past 30 days and off about 40% year-to-date, though the three-year total shareholder return still exceeds 6x. Analysts note that the undervaluation thesis depends substantially on Rigetti executing on milestones that do not yet exist, meaning the gap between the fair-value estimate and today's price is essentially a bet on future quantum progress rather than present fundamentals.

Rigetti Computing has secured a contract to supply a 108-qubit quantum system to India's Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), a government research institution. The agreement is seen as supporting long-term revenue expectations for the company, though specific financial terms and delivery timelines were not disclosed.

Despite the deal, RGTI's valuation remains stretched relative to peers. The stock trades at roughly 8.0x price-to-book, above the semiconductor industry average of approximately 5.1x and the quantum computing peer average of around 4.5x. According to Simply Wall St analysis cited in the report, RGTI fails all six undervaluation screens, while the stock has shed about 17.7% over the past year even as it has delivered substantial gains over a three-year horizon. Analysts point to competition from peers such as IQM and execution risk on complex government contracts as factors that could weigh on the premium multiple.