Rigetti Shares Hit a 52-Week Low Before Q3 Earnings Report

Rigetti Computing shares fell to a new 52-week low of $10.60 as investors continued to sell quantum computing stocks ahead of the company’s third-quarter earnings report on Nov. 10. The decline extended a retreat that reached well beyond Rigetti.

The move was not an isolated break in one stock. Investors cited slow technical progress, heavy spending and uncertainty over customer demand while reassessing the sector’s near-term outlook and the timeline for meaningful commercial adoption.

What are analysts expecting from Rigetti?

Ahead of the report, analysts expect revenue of $3.68 million and a loss of $0.05 per share. These are analyst estimates, not confirmed results or company guidance, and they provide a baseline for judging Rigetti’s progress.

The forecast is specific, but the larger debate is not confined to one quarterly number. Investors are reassessing how quickly the technology will advance, how much spending will continue and when customer demand will materialize; those concerns are likely to shape the report’s reception even if the headline figures approach expectations.

Why does B. Riley retain a Buy rating?

In a note to investors, B. Riley cut its price target on Rigetti to $25 from $35 while maintaining a “Buy” rating. Even after the reduction, the revised target implied 134% upside from the stock’s last closing price.

That combination captures the current tension. B. Riley remains constructive on Rigetti’s longer-term potential, but the lower target acknowledges that investors may wait longer for that potential to appear in the share price.

A “Buy” rating can survive a lower target. So can a large implied upside beside a new 52-week low. Neither fact settles the operating question: one expresses analyst conviction, while the other records the market’s current judgment.

Is this a Rigetti problem or a sector problem?

Rigetti’s decline reflects pressure across the quantum computing sector, not simply a dispute over its own quarterly performance. The new low shows that investors demand more evidence of technical and commercial progress.

Yet the sector-wide sell-off means investors evaluate Rigetti on more than its own results. They also weigh their confidence in quantum computing as an investable theme, which makes each company report a test of broader spending, timing and demand assumptions.

That distinction between technical progress and commercial adoption carries the weight. Progress can continue while the timing and size of adoption remain uncertain and spending stays heavy. The market wants evidence on both sides, even though a quarterly report can address only part of that equation.

What can the earnings report change?

The immediate test is whether Rigetti’s third-quarter results can stabilize sentiment or reinforce concerns about high spending and uncertain demand. Investors have a numerical reference point in the $3.68 million revenue estimate and $0.05 per-share loss estimate; actual figures will show whether that reference point moves.

A report near those estimates would answer a narrow question about the quarter. It would leave the broader debate over adoption timing, continued spending and customer demand intact, and the sector may still focus on the gap between technical progress and commercial adoption.

For investors, the Nov. 10 report serves as a near-term checkpoint, while commercial adoption remains the longer question. It will test whether Rigetti can begin to justify the more optimistic views still held by some analysts. Without clearer evidence of progress, the gap between the $10.60 share price and B. Riley’s $25 target is likely to persist.