Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.85, but opened at $18.25. Rivian Automotive shares last traded at $17.2420, with a volume of 20,645,394 shares.

Trending Headlines about Rivian Automotive

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO RJ Scaringe named a keynote speaker at ACT Expo 2026 — continued visibility in commercial and fleet channels supports Rivian’s long‑term commercial EV narrative. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Feature pieces highlighting Rivian as a significant non‑Tesla EV contender may help rebuild retail interest over time. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains around “Hold,” a mixed signal that leaves valuation upside/downside dependent on execution rather than fresh analyst enthusiasm. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest report in the feed appears to contain erroneous/zero values — treat that data point cautiously; it does not meaningfully explain today’s move. (Internal trading data entry)
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple price‑prediction and technical‑trend articles note recent share weakness over the past week; these narratives can amplify volatility but are not new fundamental news. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: UBS downgraded RIVN to Sell (price target moved toward the mid‑teens) — this was the headline catalyst for today’s selling pressure as UBS cited valuation and execution risks. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Wolfe Research also lowered its rating (Underperform/Lower) — a second major shop cutting coverage increases the odds of further weakness as momentum traders and funds adjust positioning. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Rivian’s recall of nearly 20,000 R1 vehicles after a service‑procedure issue and subsequent production/customer updates raise near‑term cost and execution questions that analysts are factoring into cuts. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on RIVN shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of Rivian Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Rivian Automotive from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Rivian Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective (up from $13.00) on shares of Rivian Automotive in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Rivian Automotive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rivian Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.03.

Rivian Automotive Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $21.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.51 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.98.

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The electric vehicle automaker reported ($0.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.71) by $0.06. Rivian Automotive had a negative return on equity of 57.33% and a negative net margin of 61.34%.The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.08) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rivian Automotive, Inc. will post -3.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rivian Automotive

In other news, Director Peter Krawiec sold 3,655 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.45, for a total value of $71,089.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 29,122 shares in the company, valued at $566,422.90. This represents a 11.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert J. Scaringe sold 17,450 shares of Rivian Automotive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $341,147.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,132,659 shares in the company, valued at $22,143,483.45. This trade represents a 1.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 155,054 shares of company stock valued at $2,733,010. Insiders own 2.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rivian Automotive by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,849,818 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock valued at $80,376,000 after acquiring an additional 799,030 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Rivian Automotive during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,324,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Rivian Automotive by 227.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 117,096 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 81,291 shares during the period. Tableaux LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rivian Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,435,000. Finally, Udine Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rivian Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $937,000. 66.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Rivian Automotive

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.