Rigetti Computing Inc (NASDAQ:RGTI) shares are trading higher by 13.3% to $17.28 Thursday morning, despite a lack of company-specific news for the session. Rigetti shares have gained some 445% over the past month amid marked strength in quantum computing-related stocks.

Additionally, the company's December release of its 84-qubit Ankaa-3 quantum computer has also captured investor attention.

What To Know: Ankaa-3 features superior two-qubit gate fidelities, achieving 99.0% for iSWAP gates and 99.5% for fSim gates, coupled with reduced error rates. The company says these improvements are critical for advancing quantum computing toward practical applications in cryptography, optimization and drug discovery.

Rigetti Computing says the system also delivers fast gate speeds—72-nanosecond median times for iSWAP and 56 nanoseconds for fSim—ideal for complex data processing tasks like random circuit sampling.

The company says the machine is now accessible through Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services and will debut on platforms like Amazon Braket and Microsoft Azure in early 2025.

Rigetti's forward-looking plans include a modular 36-qubit system in mid-2025 and a 100+ qubit system by year-end, with further reductions in error rates.

CEO Dr. Subodh Kulkarni in December also highlighted Rigetti's $225 million cash position and absence of debt, emphasizing confidence in delivering its roadmap.

Read Also: Tesla Stock Tumbles On Q4 Deliveries: What's Going On?

How To Buy RGTI Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Rigetti Computing – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy 'fractional shares,' which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share. For example, some stock, like Berkshire Hathaway, can cost thousands of dollars to own just one share. However, if you only want to invest a fraction of that, brokerages will allow you to do so.

In the the case of Rigetti Computing, which is trading at $15.58 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 6.42 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to 'go short' a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, RGTI has a 52-week high of $19.35 and a 52-week low of $0.66.