Rigetti shares waver, then rise after quantum-computing co's Q4 report

Rigetti Computing Inc's RGTI.O shares reverse early losses and swing into positive territory on Thurs after Q4 results

RGTI shares last up 9% at $8.92, near session highs, after falling as low as $7.20 in early trade

Berkeley, California-based quantum-computing firm late Weds reported Q4 net loss of of ~$153 mln, vs loss of $12.6 mln loss a yr-ago, including $135.1 mln of non-cash charges in earn-out and derivative warrant liabilities

Its operating loss of $18.5 mln was above Wall Street's estimated $16 mln loss, per LSEG data

Rev in qtr fell to $2.3 mln from $3.4 mln in comp period last year, just below consensus of $2.5 mln

CEO Subodh Kulkarni said on call with analysts that co remains in R&D mode currently, adding it is "still roughly four to five years away before commercial sales matter"

TD Cowen, which rates RTGI 'buy", said in note co's tech roadmap remains well positioned to vie for Department of Defense and Department of Energy program funds

All 6 brokerages covering RGTI rate stock "buy"; median PT of $15 up from $8.50 a month ago and from $3.25 on Dec 6

With move on Thurs, stock off >40% YTD. Stock ended Oct at $1.32

On Feb 20, most quantum computing stocks rose after Microsoft MSFT.O launched a new chip indicating the technology is not "decades away" as stated by Nvidia's NVDA.O CEO