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Rigetti Stock Pulls Back After Retail-Fueled Holiday Surge

Investors weighed Rigetti’s roadmap progress against a recent DARPA benchmarking snub.

Overview

  • Shares fell Friday after sharp early‑week gains tied to social‑media buzz around the 2026 roadmap and fresh bullish coverage, including Wedbush’s Outperform rating and $35 target.
  • The stock remains highly volatile, sitting well below its October peak yet still up year to date, reflecting rapid swings through 2025.
  • Rigetti highlighted technical progress this year, including the industry’s largest multichip system and a 100‑plus‑qubit chiplet with 99.5% fidelity, with targets of 150‑plus qubits in 2026 and 1,000‑plus in 2027.
  • The company booked two Novera system orders totaling $5.7 million for delivery in the first half of 2026 and secured a three‑year $5.8 million Air Force Research Laboratory award with QphoX.
  • Validation challenges persisted as Rigetti was not selected among the initial 11 companies advancing to Phase II of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.