TLDR:
- RGTI stock surged 10.5% on Thursday following positive earnings from competitor D-Wave Quantum
- Trump’s UK trade deal boosted optimism with provisions for intellectual property protection
- Rigetti will report Q1 2025 earnings on May 12, with analysts expecting a narrower loss of $0.05 per share
- Wall Street maintains a Strong Buy consensus with a $15.50 price target, implying 50.34% upside
- Rigetti is collaborating on new technology to read qubits using light instead of wires, potentially allowing more qubits in its systems
Rigetti Computing stock has been on a tear, skyrocketing 10.5% on Thursday alone and gaining a stunning 705% over the past year. Multiple factors are driving this quantum computing company’s meteoric rise as investors bet on its future potential.
Thursday’s jump came partially in response to industry peer D-Wave Quantum’s impressive earnings report. D-Wave announced first-quarter revenue of $15 million, representing a massive 509% increase from the same period last year.
D-Wave’s CEO called it “arguably the most important quarter in D-Wave’s history.” The company achieved a key milestone by demonstrating “quantum supremacy” over classical computing on a real-world problem.
This achievement lifted all quantum computing stocks, including Rigetti. Investors see D-Wave’s success as validation for the entire sector.
Adding fuel to Rigetti’s rise was President Trump’s announcement of a new trade deal with the United Kingdom. The deal includes provisions for intellectual property protection that could benefit quantum computing companies like Rigetti.
Rigetti is scheduled to report its first-quarter 2025 earnings after market close on Monday, May 12. Analysts expect the company to show a narrower loss of $0.05 per share compared to $0.14 in the prior-year quarter.
Financial Outlook and Analyst Sentiment
Revenue projections are less rosy, with Wall Street anticipating a 16% year-over-year decline to $2.6 million. The company’s earnings history has been mixed, having missed estimates six times in the past nine quarters.
Despite these challenges, analyst sentiment remains overwhelmingly positive. Wall Street has a Strong Buy consensus rating on RGTI stock based on six unanimous Buy recommendations in the past three months.
The average price target stands at $15.50, suggesting potential upside of more than 50% from current levels. Options traders are positioning for volatility, expecting an 18.23% move in either direction following the earnings announcement.
Rigetti is still working toward profitability. The company posted a net loss of $153 million in Q4 2024, though much of this was attributed to non-cash items such as changes in warrant values.
The company maintains a strong cash position with $217.2 million in cash and investments at the end of 2024. This provides a financial cushion as Rigetti implements cost-cutting measures while pursuing its technological roadmap.
Technical Innovation Driving Future Growth
Rigetti continues to push technological boundaries in the quantum computing space. The company recently received a multinational grant in collaboration with Dutch startup QphoX and the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre.
This partnership aims to develop a new method for reading superconducting qubits using light instead of wires. The innovation would transmit light through optical fibers, replacing bulky cables and potentially reducing heat in quantum machines.
Heat management is critical in quantum computing since these systems must operate at extremely low temperatures. If successful, this breakthrough could allow Rigetti to pack more qubits into its systems.
More qubits mean more computing power. Rigetti has ambitious plans to develop a 100-qubit system by late 2025, moving the company closer to building reliable, large-scale quantum computers.
The quantum computing industry still faces a long road to maturity. Current demonstrations of “quantum supremacy” remain limited in scope, and it may be years before the technology delivers major economic benefits.
For investors willing to accept high risk and potentially wait a decade for returns, Rigetti represents one of the better options in the quantum computing market. The strong analyst consensus reflects this long-term potential despite near-term financial challenges.
Rigetti’s stock price of $10.31 as of Thursday’s close reflects growing investor confidence in both the company’s technological roadmap and the broader quantum computing sector.
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