Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) Trading Up 3.1% After Analyst Upgrade

Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) shares shot up 3.1% on Thursday after DA Davidson upgraded the stock from an underperform rating to a neutral rating. DA Davidson now has a $14.00 price target on the stock. Rivian Automotive traded as high as $15.48 and last traded at $15.40. 20,618,107 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 30,397,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.94.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on RIVN. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Rivian Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Rivian Automotive in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Rivian Automotive in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Rivian Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Rivian Automotive from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rivian Automotive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert J. Scaringe sold 34,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,044,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,551,480.80. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Claire Mcdonough sold 27,133 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 transaction of $455,834.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 680,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,438,044.80. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,833 shares of company stock valued at $2,196,995. Corporate insiders own 2.16% of the company’s stock.

Rivian Automotive News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 deliveries beat estimates — Rivian reported 10,365 vehicle deliveries and production of 10,236 units for Q1, topping analyst delivery estimates and aligning with company outlook; management also reaffirmed full‑year 2026 delivery guidance of 62,000–67,000 vehicles, giving investors visibility into the cadence for the year. Rivian Releases Q1 2026 Production and Delivery Figures
• Positive Sentiment: Delivery beat confirmed by multiple outlets — Reuters, Seeking Alpha and other news services reported the beat and noted stabilization in EV demand for Rivian’s R1S/R1T lineup, which supports the share price move as investors reward visible demand stabilization ahead of the R2 model debut. Rivian beats quarterly delivery estimates as EV demand stabilizes
• Positive Sentiment: Also (Rivian spinoff) secures strategic funding and DoorDash partnership — Also raised $200M in a Series C (Greenoaks lead) and struck a multi‑year deal with DoorDash to deploy autonomous last‑mile EVs; that strengthens Rivian’s ecosystem play and potential aftermarket/autonomy revenue pathways. Rivian’s Also DoorDash Deal Tests Autonomy Platform Beyond Vehicle Sales
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst move is mixed — DA Davidson upgraded Rivian from Underperform to Neutral (citing valuation after the pullback) but set a $14 target that implies limited near‑term upside vs. the current price, so the upgrade isn’t a clear positive catalyst. DA Davidson Upgrades Rivian From Underperform
• Neutral Sentiment: Bullish valuation views surface — Some retail/analysis pieces (e.g., The Motley Fool) list Rivian as an undervalued EV name, which can support longer‑term inflows but is not an immediate catalyst. 2 EV Stocks That Are Too Cheap to Ignore Right Now
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. monthly sales have declined sequentially — reports note a fourth consecutive month of lower U.S. sales ahead of the R2 launch, highlighting near‑term demand volatility that could cap the stock despite the quarter’s beat. Tesla rival Rivian’s US sales decline for fourth consecutive month
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction muted — despite beating delivery estimates, RIVN and larger EV peers fell on the same day in some reports; investors are focused on scale (Rivian’s 10k deliveries vs. Tesla’s 358k in Q1) and profitability headwinds, which can pressure the stock if growth/margin improvements aren’t evident. Tesla Rival Rivian Tops Delivery Estimates With New Model Still Due

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RIVN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Rivian Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at about $220,323,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Rivian Automotive by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 16,397,496 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock valued at $323,195,000 after acquiring an additional 4,012,386 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Rivian Automotive by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,673,512 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock valued at $1,198,967,000 after acquiring an additional 2,597,310 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Rivian Automotive by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,769,844 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock valued at $409,374,000 after acquiring an additional 2,418,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rivian Automotive by 496.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,305,236 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock worth $31,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,918,852 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.25% of the company’s stock.

Rivian Automotive Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $19.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.02 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.33.

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The electric vehicle automaker reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.68) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. Rivian Automotive had a negative return on equity of 65.05% and a negative net margin of 67.68%.Rivian Automotive’s quarterly revenue was down 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.70) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Rivian Automotive, Inc. will post -3.2 EPS for the current year.

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.