Rigetti Insiders Sold $20M at $25 Before Earnings Miss
Rigetti's CEO, CTO, CFO, and a board director sold a combined $20.16M in open-market shares at $20.55 to $26.23 between May and June 2026, with no purchases reported. The company then delivered EPS of
Rigetti Insiders Sold $20M at $25 Before Earnings Miss
NEW YORK, August 9 —
Rigetti Computing, Inc. (RGTI) is trading near $25 on August 9, the same range at which its CEO, CTO, CFO, and a board director sold $20.16M in open-market shares between May 22 and June 22, with zero purchases reported in the period. The quantum rally has returned new buyers to exactly the prices those insiders spent the spring exiting.
- CEO, CTO, CFO, and director sold combined $20.16M at $20.55, $26.23 in May, June 2026; zero purchases reported.
- Most recent quarterly EPS of -$0.05 missed consensus by 8.6%, ending three straight positive surprises.
- $390M cash against $61M annual burn gives multi-year runway; short interest is 18.5% of float.
The Selling Pattern
The sequence was mechanical. CTO David Rivas exercised roughly 112,000 options at $0.27 on May 29, then sold 499,328 shares at $25.40 the same day: a $12.68M transaction and the largest single insider sale in the period. CEO Subodh Kulkarni followed with options at $0.96 to $1.41, then open-market sales at $24.38 to $26.23 for combined proceeds of $2.62M. Director Ray O. Johnson contributed $4.35M across three tranches through June 22; CFO Jeffrey Bertelsen added $84,500. Every Form 4 filed was a sale. Rigetti builds superconducting quantum processors up to 84 qubits and sells cloud access via its QCaaS platform to commercial and government customers; trailing revenue is $10M.
The Quarter That Breaks the Pattern
What tips the narrative is timing. Rigetti's most recent quarter delivered EPS of -$0.05, missing the consensus estimate by 8.6%, the first miss after three consecutive beats of 25%, 9.1%, and 7%. The beat streak gave the quantum rally real footing; the break matters because it arrived as insiders were distributing shares. Revenue grew 185% year-over-year to roughly $10M trailing, extraordinary as a rate but modest as a base against $61M in annual cash outflows. At 11.1x price-to-book and zero of six valuation checks passed, any DCF model on this revenue requires terminal assumptions that current results cannot support.
| Ticker | Mkt cap | Fwd P/E | 52-wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| RGTI | $6.0B | n/a | +12.3% |
| QBTS | $7.7B | n/a | +19.5% |
| IONQ | $16.6B | n/a | -1.1% |
| QUBT | $2.1B | n/a | -44.2% |
| SOUN | $3.5B | n/a | -49.6% |
| OKLO | $8.4B | n/a | -32.6% |
What Would Prove This Wrong
The counterargument is real: $390M in cash against $61M in annual outflows provides several years of runway and removes near-term dilution risk. But insider ownership has declined to 1.7%; the executives with the most information about hardware milestones now hold the least equity. Short interest at 18.5% of float means a genuine revenue surprise could compress shorts quickly, but none has come. The next earnings report will test the case: consensus beats would shift the thesis, and a commercial Ankaa-3 contract is the catalyst to watch. Run the free Rigetti Computing, Inc. deep-dive → for the latest numbers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who sold Rigetti Computing stock in 2026?
CEO Subodh Kulkarni, CTO David Rivas, CFO Jeffrey Bertelsen, and board director Ray O. Johnson sold a combined $20.16M in shares between May 22 and June 22, 2026. CTO Rivas made the largest single transaction, selling 499,328 shares at $25.40 for $12.68M in proceeds. No purchases were reported by any insider during the period.
Did Rigetti Computing miss earnings?
Rigetti's most recent quarter produced EPS of -$0.05, missing the $0.04625 consensus estimate by 8.6%. That result ended three consecutive quarterly beats of 25%, 9.1%, and 7%, breaking the streak that had given the quantum rally a fundamental anchor.
How much cash does Rigetti Computing have?
Rigetti holds $390M in cash against approximately $61M in annual cash outflows, providing several years of operating runway and removing near-term dilution as a threat. Revenue grew 185% year-over-year to roughly $10M trailing, though that base remains modest relative to the burn rate.
What is Rigetti Computing's short interest?
Short interest stands at 18.5% of float. A genuine revenue surprise could compress that position quickly, but the data point to support such a move had not arrived at the time of writing.
What would make Rigetti Computing stock go higher?
A return to consensus earnings beats in the next quarterly report would shift the thesis. A commercial contract on the Ankaa-3 is the specific catalyst identified as most likely to move the stock.
Rigetti Computing stock is trading near $25 again on August 9, 2026 — the exact price range at which the company's CEO, CTO, CFO, and a board director sold a combined $20.16M in open-market shares just two months earlier. A fresh wave of news coverage frames the re-run as a quantum funding rally, even as the company's most recent quarter delivered its first EPS miss after three consecutive beats.