 Rigetti's financial stability, combined with growing analyst confidence and strategic partnerships, positions the quantum computing pioneer... ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ |
| | Written by Jeffrey Neal Johnson 
Wall Street is taking a fresh, bullish look at quantum computing pioneer Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI). For months, investors have weighed the company’s incredible long-term promise against the high costs of developing its technology. However, a series of smart financial and strategic moves has provided a much clearer picture of Rigetti’s path forward. This has led to a growing chorus of positive analyst ratings, suggesting that recent developments have fundamentally improved the company's outlook, making it a key stock to watch in the quantum computing sector. A Chorus of Confidence: Why Analysts Are Backing RGTI The latest bullish signal of this growing confidence came at the beginning of July 2025. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Rigetti with an Overweight rating and set a $15.00 price target. This move is important because it reinforces a broader trend of optimism. Cantor Fitzgerald now joins a group of at least five other Wall Street firms that hold a unified Buy or equivalent rating on the stock. Together, these analysts have an average 12-month price target of $14.20, pointing to an attractive potential upside from its current price. For investors, this unified positive rating should serve as a powerful indicator, signaling that the company’s strategy is gaining traction and credibility. Fuel for the Future: Rigetti's $575 Million Cash Position The biggest factor driving this optimism is Rigetti's vastly improved financial health. In early June 2025, the company announced it had completed a $350 million stock offering. This move, known as an at-the-market offering, allows a company to sell shares over time to raise capital efficiently. This successful raise has fortified Rigetti's balance sheet to a game-changing degree. The company now holds approximately $575 million in cash and investments, and importantly, it carries no debt. This fortified financial position gives Rigetti several key advantages: - A Long Operational Runway: The cash provides the company with enough funding to operate for several years, allowing it to focus on technology without the constant pressure of raising money.
- Strength and Flexibility: It puts management in a position of strength, enabling it to fund its intense research and development while exploring new partnerships or strategic opportunities.
- Reduced Investor Risk: This financial stability eliminates one of the biggest risks for a pre-revenue tech company, providing a solid foundation for future growth.
Building the Ecosystem for Commercial Success A strong bank account is only useful if the company holding the money has a sound strategy for spending it. Rigetti is proving it does by building an ecosystem of high-quality partners to solve the industry's toughest challenges. The company already has a foundational manufacturing partnership with Quanta Computer, a global electronics giant. This collaboration is designed to address the long-term challenge of building complex quantum systems at scale. More recently, Rigetti has shown its ability to execute on other key projects. It was selected for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Quantum Benchmarking initiative, a project that validates its technology against the highest government standards. Internationally, Rigetti is also expanding its footprint. Through the Innovate UK awards, the company is leading a project to advance quantum error correction and is upgrading the UK's National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) quantum computer. This strategy of partnering with leaders in manufacturing, government, and research shows that Rigetti is executing a capital-efficient plan to bring its technology to market. Why New Strengths Outweigh Market Debates No high-growth tech stock is without market debate, and Rigetti is a prime example. Rigetti has a short interest of roughly 20%, indicating that many traders are betting its price will decline. However, this bearish view is now directly countered by the strong bullish consensus from Rigetti’s analyst community, and it is coupled with a consistent net inflow of institutional investment. More importantly, Rigetti is actively building the case against market doubt through tangible execution. The strategic ecosystem it is creating provides a credible and de-risked roadmap to commercialization. This demonstrates a company that is not just planning for the future, but methodically building it. With approximately $575 million in cash and no debt, Rigetti has the resources and time to execute its long-term strategy. For investors considering Rigetti today, the landscape has undergone a fundamental shift. The powerful combination of financial security, validated strategic partnerships, and growing analyst confidence creates a compelling case that Rigetti is now better positioned for long-term success than ever before.  Read This Story Online |  |
| Written by Gabriel Osorio-Mazilli 
When investors look for some of the best indicators pointing to a stock moving higher in the short—to medium-term timeline, there aren’t many indicators as powerful as a company buying back its own stock in bulk. Stock buyback programs are a tax-free and efficient way to reward shareholders, unlike dividend payments or other methods commonly used in today’s market. The primary benefit of buying back stock is that it increases the percentage ownership of all existing shareholders, without requiring any additional capital expenditure. The second effect is that the available number of shares also declines, which helps boost future earnings per share (EPS) figures. This has a direct positive effect on the stock price and its valuation as a result. It seems that today’s stock buyback announcements are focused on the financial sector, where some of the biggest banks have decided that the future looks brighter than it did in the past, expecting more profitability and higher prices as well. This is a reason investors should keep an eye on stocks like Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), and even Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) for future upside, also backed by the current fundamental state of the market. Investment Banking Set to Take Off for Morgan Stanley There are typically two types of banks in the industry, commercial and investment banks. Morgan Stanley belongs to the latter, where most of the bank’s earnings and fees come from brokering deals in the merger and acquisitions (M&A) space and sales and trading activities, both of which are set to take off in this current environment. Trading fees and commissions are expected to increase due to the current rotations and volatility within the S&P 500 index. The potential for lower interest rates to be in place by the end of 2025 may create a more favorable financing environment, historically bullish for M&A deals to be completed. Considering all these optimistic factors now in place for Morgan Stanley, it makes sense for management to approve a $20 billion stock buyback program as of July 2025, seeking to repurchase just under 10% of the bank’s market capitalization. The 8% to 10% range is typically aggressive for those new to buybacks, so Morgan Stanley could have a big surprise under the hood ready to deliver results for current and prospective shareholders. Management isn’t the only participant who is optimistic about Morgan Stanley's stock. As of mid-May 2025, institutional buyers from UBS Asset Management have decided to increase their holdings in Morgan Stanley stock by 4.8%, bringing their net position to a high of $1.1 billion today. This is another bullish factor for investors to consider in their potential buying thesis. Earnings Wave Coming for Wells Fargo Stock Wells Fargo management approved a stock buyback program worth up to $40 billion in the second quarter of 2025, confirming the broader view that banking stocks may be trading below their perceived value. This massive amount of buybacks carries a similar tailwind to those seen in Morgan Stanley, rooted in earnings. However, Wells Fargo is more focused on the commercial banking industry, where most revenue and earnings come from products like mortgages and credit cards, among other banking solutions. Understanding that today’s credit cycle is likely bottoming and poised to surge again with potentially lower interest rates by the end of the year is the core. The core for Wells Fargo’s future earnings wave, where Wall Street analysts now forecast to see up to $1.62 in earnings per share (EPS) for Wells Fargo in the fourth quarter of 2025, implying a net growth rate of as much as 17% from today’s reported $1.23 in EPS. As most investors know, where EPS growth goes, so does the stock price, and this massive $40 billion buyback only comes to expand on that effect, potentially creating a new double-digit percentage upside for Wells Fargo stock moving forward. Momentum Set to Continue in Citigroup Not only is Citigroup now trading at a new 52-week high, but it is also aligning itself with the broader bull thesis being established for banking stocks. What’s different about Citigroup is that it's just as exposed to the investment banking side of things as it is to the commercial side, acting as a double-edged sword for investors to consider. That might be one of the reasons why Richard Ramsden from Goldman Sachs decided to reiterate his Buy rating on Citigroup stock alongside a $96 per share valuation target, calling for a new 52-week high to be made alongside an additional 11% upside from where the stock trades today. Considering its exposure to the broader industry tailwinds today, investors shouldn’t be surprised to see this momentum and expectation for Citigroup stock. Furthermore, investors can note the $20 billion stock buyback program for Citigroup this year, which justifies and reinforces the upside these analysts projected and the momentum observed in the stock. Read This Story Online |  |
| Written by Chris Markoch 
For years, “Made in America” has been a slogan that many investors and consumers viewed as having more style than substance. Consumers have said they want to buy from American companies, but many of those American companies source their products from other countries. In 2025, the Trump administration is trying to put substance into that slogan. From rising geopolitical tensions to renewed focus on domestic manufacturing and energy independence, companies that build, produce, and power America are finding new tailwinds. July 9 will mark the end of the administration’s self-imposed 90-day deadline for trade deals with other countries. Although the final numbers are expected to be much lower than those announced on “Liberation Day,” companies that do business in the United States stand to benefit. Several of these stocks are still compelling opportunities under $20 per share. This article highlights three companies that stand out for their commitment to American operations and the potential value they offer investors. Together, these companies highlight how investors can participate in American resilience and industrial capacity without paying a premium valuation. Cleveland-Cliffs: America’s Steel Backbone Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF) is North America's largest flat-rolled steel producer and one of the few that operates fully integrated steelmaking facilities inside the United States. The company supplies steel to domestic automakers, appliance manufacturers, and construction firms. These are all sectors that stand to benefit from infrastructure investment and Buy American policies. What sets Cleveland-Cliffs apart is its vertical integration, from iron ore mining in Minnesota and Michigan to blast furnaces and finishing operations in Ohio and Indiana. This structure reduces reliance on foreign inputs and helps protect margins in volatile markets. Despite soft steel pricing in recent quarters, CLF’s focus on high-value automotive-grade steel and its strategic acquisitions of AK Steel and ArcelorMittal USA have cemented its leadership position. As of the market close on July 2, CLF stock is trading around $8.71, marking a strong rebound that brings it back to a level last reached on May 2. The move also pushed shares decisively above the 50-day and 100-day simple moving averages. The next potential upside target is the $10 area, which not only represents a round-number resistance but would also bring the stock closer to the longer-term 200-day moving average, which could further confirm a trend reversal. Momentum indicators are also supportive: the MACD has recently crossed into positive territory, suggesting strengthening bullish momentum. Newell Brands: Everyday Essentials with U.S. Roots Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: NWL) is the company behind some of the most iconic products in American homes, including Rubbermaid containers, Sharpie markers, and Coleman outdoor gear. Although Newell sources some components globally, it maintains substantial U.S. manufacturing and distribution. Newell stock has been in a multi-year tailspin after a bullish run in 2020 and 2021. But Newell has focused on streamlining operations and reinvigorating its core brands. Recent management initiatives target cost reductions and supply chain improvements, which could help stabilize profitability. This focus on profitability is reflected in analysts’ forecasts for 19% earnings growth in the next 12 months and a consensus price target of $7.53, which is 27% higher than its closing price on July 2. NWL stock is down more than 40% in 2025. However, it’s up about 17% in the last 30 days, pushing it near its 100-day simple moving average. The MACD also looks ready for a bullish reversal that could push the stock higher. Energy Transfer: Building U.S. Energy Security Energy stocks have had a rough year as crude oil prices remain below $70. However, midstream companies, such as Energy Transfer LP (NYSE: ET) are likely to be big winners if the economy improves in the second half of the year. Energy Transfer owns and operates over 125,000 miles of pipelines that transport crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from U.S. production basins to refineries, utilities, and export terminals. The partnership also invests in American jobs, tax revenues, and selective renewable projects. ET stock has been in a consolidation pattern since the beginning of May. However, in the last month, the stock is trying to push to higher highs. At $17.91 it’s trading just below its 100-day moving average. Analysts are bullish that will happen. The consensus price target for ET stock is $22.64, which is a 26% upside. While investors wait, they can collect a dividend with a yield of 7.31% that makes it popular among income-focused investors. Read This Story Online |  |
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