Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) Trading Down 2% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Volkswagen became Rivian’s top shareholder and will expand its stake under a $5.8B joint venture, supplying cash, industrial scale and potential distribution/engineering support.
• Demand and product catalysts include an order from Uber for 10,000 autonomous vehicles and development of lower-priced R2 variants to broaden Rivian’s addressable market and volume potential if execution and margins hold.
• Key risks: revenue was down about 25.8% year-over-year and the company remains unprofitable, while plans to build its own lidar (possibly with Chinese partners) raise execution, quality and geopolitical concerns, and insiders have recently sold shares.

Shares of Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN - Get Free Report) dropped 2% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $14.12 and last traded at $14.1930. Approximately 25,805,763 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 29,322,902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.48.

More Rivian Automotive News

Here are the key news stories impacting Rivian Automotive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large commercial demand: Uber has ordered 10,000 autonomous vehicles from Rivian as part of a broader robotaxi push, which could create long-term volume and revenue visibility if production and AV integration scale successfully. Uber’s Robotaxi And Parking Bets Recast Growth And Risk For Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic capital and partnership: Volkswagen has become Rivian’s top shareholder and will expand its stake under a $5.8B joint venture, providing cash, industrial scale and potential distribution/engineering support. Volkswagen becomes Rivian’s top shareholder, displacing Amazon
• Positive Sentiment: Market expansion via R2 variants: Rivian is developing multiple R2 variants aimed at lower price points to broaden its addressable market and boost volume — a key growth lever if margins and supply match the plan. Exclusive: Rivian developing variants of its more affordable R2 EVs
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/indirect positives: Analysts note that a SpaceX IPO could free up capital and investor appetite for EV/tech names, an indirect bullish narrative for Rivian but not an immediate driver of fundamentals. Here's Why the SpaceX IPO Makes Rivian Stock a Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and supply risks: Rivian is considering building its own lidar (possibly with Chinese partners), which could lower component costs but raises execution, quality and geopolitical/regulatory risk that could weigh on investor sentiment. Rivian mulls making its own lidar sensors, possibly in partnership with Chinese firms

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RIVN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Rivian Automotive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $23.00 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered Rivian Automotive from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen upgraded Rivian Automotive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. DA Davidson upgraded Rivian Automotive from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Rivian Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $16.00 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.52.

Rivian Automotive Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.10. The stock has a market cap of $17.61 billion, a PE ratio of -4.86 and a beta of 1.64.

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The electric vehicle automaker reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by $0.14. Rivian Automotive had a negative return on equity of 75.65% and a negative net margin of 63.62%.The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.70) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Rivian Automotive, Inc. will post -3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert J. Scaringe sold 34,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.80, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,044,731 shares in the company, valued at $17,551,480.80. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Claire Mcdonough sold 27,133 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.80, for a total value of $455,834.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 680,836 shares in the company, valued at $11,438,044.80. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 148,888 shares of company stock valued at $2,411,276 in the last 90 days. 2.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rivian Automotive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Rivian Automotive by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,673,512 shares of the electric vehicle automaker's stock worth $1,198,967,000 after purchasing an additional 2,597,310 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in Rivian Automotive by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,769,844 shares of the electric vehicle automaker's stock worth $409,374,000 after purchasing an additional 2,418,717 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Rivian Automotive by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 16,397,496 shares of the electric vehicle automaker's stock worth $323,195,000 after purchasing an additional 4,012,386 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Rivian Automotive by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,782,865 shares of the electric vehicle automaker's stock worth $290,568,000 after purchasing an additional 59,503 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Rivian Automotive during the 4th quarter worth about $220,323,000. 66.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rivian Automotive Company Profile

Rivian Automotive, Inc is an American automotive technology company specializing in the design, development and manufacture of electric vehicles. The company is best known for its all-electric R1 platform, which underpins the R1T pickup truck and R1S sport utility vehicle. In addition to consumer products, Rivian has secured a significant commercial contract to produce electric delivery vans for a leading e-commerce provider, underscoring its capability to serve both retail and fleet customers.

Founded in 2009 by engineer and entrepreneur Robert “RJ” Scaringe, Rivian has grown from a research-focused startup into a publicly traded corporation.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.