NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 19:32 ET — After-hours
Rigetti Computing shares were down about 0.4% at $22.27 in after-hours trading on Monday, after swinging between $21.54 and $22.75 during the session. About 33.6 million shares changed hands, according to market data.
The move comes as investors take profits in a volatile pocket of “pure-play” quantum computing stocks — companies whose main business is quantum technology — during thin holiday trading, Investors.com reported. Rigetti ended the regular session down 0.5% while D-Wave Quantum rose 3.4% and IonQ fell 1.6%; Rigetti is up about 46% in 2025, though the group remains more than 40% below its 52-week highs, the report said. 1
Wall Street’s growing coverage has also sharpened focus on how quickly the sector can turn research programs into repeatable revenue. Jefferies initiated Rigetti with a Hold rating and a $30 price target, pointing to the company’s reliance on government customers — nearly 90% of 2024 revenue came from government entities, Barron’s reported — and warning that “its business will likely rise and fall with government spending.” 2
Rigetti builds quantum computers and superconducting quantum processors, and sells access through the cloud as quantum computing as a service, alongside professional services, according to its company profile. Quantum machines use “qubits” — the basic unit of quantum information — that can behave differently from the bits in conventional computers, potentially improving certain specialized calculations. 3
With the calendar running out, traders have treated the small set of U.S.-listed quantum names as a gauge of risk appetite, with price swings often outpacing broader tech.
For Rigetti, the near-term question is whether the company can broaden sales beyond government-funded development work and show steadier demand for its cloud offering, which would make results less dependent on the timing of contract milestones.
Competition adds pressure. Large technology groups and well-funded peers are also pushing quantum hardware and error-reduction techniques, keeping investors focused on execution and the path to commercial-scale systems.
Rigetti’s wide intraday range on Monday underscored how quickly sentiment can shift in lower-liquidity periods, particularly in smaller, high-beta stocks.
The next major scheduled checkpoint is earnings. Analysts expect Rigetti’s next report around March 4, 2026, according to Zacks, with investors likely to scrutinize cash usage, bookings and any update on converting pilots into production contracts. 4
Ahead of Tuesday’s session, traders will watch for signs that year-end profit-taking is easing — and whether fresh analyst commentary or customer updates can stabilize trading in the sector.
