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Rigetti Shares Fall After Midweek Surge as 2025 Gains Face Fresh Scrutiny

The latest pullback underscores momentum-driven trading rather than confirmation of Rigetti’s technical claims or progress through independent benchmarks.

Overview

  • Rigetti stock fell Friday afternoon after a sharp rally earlier in the week tied to retail interest and thin holiday trading conditions, reversing some recent gains.
  • Traders focused on the company’s 2026 roadmap that targets higher-qubit systems with lower error rates, alongside a halo from moves by peers such as IonQ and D‑Wave.
  • Wedbush initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $35 price target, citing Rigetti’s chiplet approach and vertically integrated production.
  • Rigetti says it demonstrated a large multichip system and a 100+‑qubit chiplet with about 99.5% fidelity, booked two Novera orders totaling $5.7 million for H1 2026 delivery, joined Nvidia’s NVQLink, and won a three‑year $5.8 million AFRL contract with QphoX.
  • Validation questions persist after Rigetti was not among the first 11 companies advancing in DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.