Rigetti Secures $100 Million U.S. Government Grant, Government to Take Equity Stake

Rigetti Computing Inc. shares rose nearly 6% in Tuesday's premarket trading after the quantum computing company secured a major U.S. government funding agreement.

Nasdaq futures fell 0.03%, while S&P 500 futures declined 0.31%.

U.S. Government Backs Rigetti with $100 Million

Rigetti said Tuesday that its subsidiary has signed a final agreement for a $100 million grant with the U.S. Department of Commerce. The grant will support research and development in superconducting quantum computing.

The funding is provided through the CHIPS for America Research and Development Office under the CHIPS and Science Act.

Rigetti plans to focus on three projects. These include smaller readout electronics, expanded cryogenic capacity, and manufacturing technology for highly interconnected quantum chips.

The Department of Commerce will also receive a minority, non-controlling equity stake in Rigetti.

CEO Subodh Kulkarni said in the announcement: "We are honored to be selected by the U.S. government to accelerate R&D and advance our roadmap to deliver commercially viable quantum computing capabilities."

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Technical Picture Remains Challenging

Despite Tuesday's rebound, Rigetti shares remain below several key moving averages. The stock traded at $16.03, 4.6% below its 20-day simple moving average and 2.4% below its 50-day simple moving average.

The stock is also 12.4% below its 100-day simple moving average and 16.9% below its 200-day simple moving average. Meanwhile, the MACD indicator remains below its signal line, suggesting weak momentum.

Traders may view $16.50 as near-term resistance and $15.50 as support.

Rigetti Analysts Remain Bullish

Rigetti holds a consensus rating of Buy. The average price target from six analysts is $32.60. Recent analyst rating changes include:

Rosenblatt: Buy

Rosenblatt: Buy

Wedbush: Outperform

Key ETF Holdings

Corgi Quantum Computing 2x Daily ETF: Weight 7.52%

WisdomTree Quantum Computing Fund ETF: Weight 5.33%

Corgi Quantum Computing ETF: Weight 7.52%

Importance: Given RGTI's high weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows into these ETFs could force automatic buying or selling of the stock.

Rigetti Stock Movement

RGTI Stock Movement: Based on Tuesday's premarket trading data, Rigetti shares rose 5.66% to $16.06.