TLDR
- B. Riley analyst Craig Ellis raised RGTI price target to street-high $19, up from $15, maintaining Buy rating
- Rigetti stock has dropped 30% from all-time high but gained 1,400% over past year
- Company aims to triple module capacity to over 100 qubits by end of 2025
- Q2 revenue projected at $1.9 million with earnings scheduled for August 12
- Strong Buy consensus rating from Wall Street with seven Buy recommendations
Rigetti Computing stock received a boost Wednesday morning after B. Riley analyst Craig Ellis raised his price target to a street-high $19. The five-star analyst maintained his Buy rating on the quantum computing company.
The upward revision represents a 27% increase from Ellis’s previous $15 target. He updated his valuation model by raising the long-term serviceable addressable market multiple from 0.24x to 0.3x.
Ellis cited technical progress and strategic partnerships as key reasons for his optimism. The analyst believes these factors could strengthen Rigetti’s position in the quantum computing industry.
The stock has been on a wild ride over the past year. Rigetti shares have gained approximately 1,400% as quantum computing hype accelerated across the market.
However, the stock has faced recent volatility since peaking in January. Shares plunged as much as 70% from their all-time high before rebounding.
As of current trading, Rigetti sits about 30% below its peak price. The company maintains a market cap of approximately $5 billion despite being largely pre-revenue.
Capacity Expansion and Technical Milestones
Rigetti has set ambitious goals for the remainder of 2025. The company aims to triple its module capacity to over 100 qubits by year-end.
The quantum computing firm has achieved several technical milestones in recent years. It launched its first 32-qubit system on Amazon Web Services in 2019.
Rigetti demonstrated its first scalable quantum chip in 2021. The company’s Aspen quantum computer became commercially available on AWS in 2022.
Its first quantum processing unit reached commercial availability in 2023. The company now holds 237 issued or pending patents on its technology.
Strategic collaborations are helping accelerate development timelines. Rigetti is working with U.K.-based Riverlane to improve quantum error correction.
This partnership addresses a key hurdle for practical quantum computing applications. Error correction remains one of the biggest technical challenges facing the industry.
Revenue Projections and Government Exposure
Ellis projects Q2 revenue of $1.9 million for Rigetti. He expects an earnings per share loss of $0.06 for the quarter.
About 94% of revenue is expected from collaborative research and services. Only 6% is projected to come from quantum processing unit access.
The company is scheduled to report Q2 results on August 12. This will provide investors with the latest operational updates.
Ellis noted Rigetti’s exposure to U.S. government quantum initiatives. Near-term revenue recognition may face headwinds from the expiration of the National Quantum Initiative Act.
However, the analyst expects renewed funding through proposed legislation. The $2.7 billion National Quantum Reauthorization Act could provide future support.
The $2.5 billion DOE Quantum Leadership Act represents another potential funding source. These initiatives could boost government contract opportunities.
Wall Street maintains a Strong Buy consensus rating on Rigetti stock. Seven analysts have issued Buy recommendations in the last three months.
The average price target stands at $15.40 across all covering analysts. This implies a slight downside of 1.79% from current trading levels.
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