NEW YORK, June 4, 2026, 05:02 EDT
Rigetti Computing shares fell before Thursday’s Nasdaq open, trading at $24.10, down $2.79, or about 10.4%, from the previous close. Investors were getting ready for another public-market test for the quantum-computing trade.
Quantum stocks are a small and choppy part of tech these days. The sector moves more on government support, milestones from research labs and bets on qubit hardware than on present earnings. Investors are looking for breakthroughs that could let quantum machines solve tasks that classical computers can’t handle yet.
Nasdaq’s main session hadn’t started when the dateline hit. The exchange says regular hours run 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern, and pre-market trading goes from 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. June 4 isn’t on the list of 2026 market holidays.
Quantinuum is pricing its U.S. IPO at $1.68 billion, with shares set at $60. The Honeywell quantum-computing unit is slated to start Nasdaq trading on Thursday as QNT. Reuters described the deal as a new test for quantum computing demand.
The pressure on Rigetti isn’t happening in a vacuum. D-Wave Quantum and IonQ, other quantum stocks, also moved lower in recent trading. The declines suggest Rigetti’s drop came as part of a sector-wide markdown, not just a company-specific event.
Tape action stayed weak. Reuters said Asian stocks were lower, S&P 500 e-minis lost 0.4%, and Broadcom slumped over 13% after hours when it missed Wall Street revenue forecasts. The move left high-growth tech on edge.
The bull argument for Rigetti still hinges on public funding and delivery. On May 21, Rigetti said it signed a letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce that could be worth up to $100 million over three years for superconducting quantum research and development. This letter of intent is an early-stage deal and not a full contract. CEO Subodh Kulkarni said the potential funding would help Rigetti “get us closer to utility-scale quantum computing.” Rigetti & Co, LLC
Rigetti’s last quarter numbers left bulls and bears with something. The company said first-quarter revenue came in at $4.4 million. Operating loss was $26.0 million. Cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale investments totaled $569.0 million. CEO Subodh Kulkarni said the 108-qubit Cepheus-1 is now live on Rigetti QCS, Amazon Braket, Microsoft Azure Quantum and qBraid.
Quantum error correction is still tough to gauge. The research page at Rigetti Computing says that error correction techniques, which aim to find and cut mistakes in quantum computing, will be needed for the technology to reach its potential.
Rigetti director Michael Clifton sold 3,144 company warrants on June 2 and then dumped 54,012 more the next day, filings showed. The Form 4 dated June 3 put the sale price at $16 per warrant. Warrants let the holder buy stock at a fixed price, but they are different from common shares.
Clifton also filed a Form 144 on June 2 for a planned sale of 156,250 warrants, worth roughly $2.28 million. Form 144 alerts regulators to potential sales of restricted or control stock. That filing stated Clifton was not aware of any material adverse details not already disclosed.
Quantum is drawing plenty of buyers. “There’s so much appetite for quantum assets,” Wedbush analyst Antoine Legault told the Wall Street Journal, which reported recently on the wave of quantum companies moving to public markets. The Wall Street Journal
But risk on the downside is still high. Kulkarni said Rigetti is “about 3 to 4 years away” from the scale, fidelity and error correction needed to reach quantum advantage, when a quantum computer beats classical machines at practical tasks. The company also warned investors it has posted negative cash flow since starting out, sees more losses ahead, and could need to raise money faster than expected if things don’t go as planned. Constellation Research
Rigetti’s stock faces two near-term tests: if Quantinuum’s debut trades will shift public pricing for quantum stocks, and whether Rigetti can actually turn its letters of funding, new research, and first system deals into steady sales. Right now, traders are trimming their bets before the bell.
