Rigetti Computing Shares Plummet Following Citron's Criticism

In a significant change, shares of Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI), a company specializing in quantum-classical computing, fell by 4% following critical commentary from Citron Research. The activist short-seller, led by Andrew Left, expressed skepticism regarding the recent surge in Rigetti's stock price. The company's share price had risen over 300% in the last 30 days and 550% year-to-date.

Citron's post on a social media platform likened the investment in Rigetti to the exaggerated belief that any TikTok guitarist could become the next Taylor Swift. The commentary highlighted Rigetti's recent sale of shares at $2 and warned of potential further dilution instead of significant advancements in quantum competitiveness. Citron argued that Rigetti was interesting at $1, but contended that its current valuation was unjustified.

This decline for Rigetti came despite its impressive performance, as the stock had surged 100% in the last five days. The drop followed an announcement earlier this week that Rigetti Computing successfully applied artificial intelligence to automate the calibration of a quantum computer, in collaboration with leading quantum controller provider Quantum Machines. This development was part of the "AI Competition for Quantum Calibration" held at the Israel Quantum Computing Center.

The broader quantum computing sector gained investor interest following an announcement from Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) on Monday. The tech giant claimed to have made a significant breakthrough with a next-generation quantum chip, stating it solved a complex computing problem in just a few minutes—an endeavor that a classical computer would take longer than the age of the universe to complete. Despite this excitement across the sector, Citron's comments cast a shadow over Rigetti's recent market performance.