Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on RIVN. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Rivian Automotive in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Rivian Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Friday. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Rivian Automotive from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rivian Automotive from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Rivian Automotive from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.62.

Rivian Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of RIVN opened at $17.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.32. The stock has a market cap of $21.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.78 and a beta of 1.76. Rivian Automotive has a one year low of $10.36 and a one year high of $22.69.

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The electric vehicle automaker reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by $0.02. Rivian Automotive had a negative return on equity of 61.67% and a negative net margin of 67.68%.The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.70) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Rivian Automotive will post -3.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert J. Scaringe sold 17,450 shares of Rivian Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.03, for a total value of $279,723.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,115,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,876,800.27. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Claire Mcdonough sold 21,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.14, for a total value of $363,539.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 738,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,650,279.84. This represents a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 120,154 shares of company stock worth $2,143,724 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rivian Automotive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rivian Automotive by 15.8% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 799,030 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Rivian Automotive in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,324,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 81,291 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Rivian Automotive by 244.1% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,624,707 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock valued at $23,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tableaux LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rivian Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth $3,435,000. 66.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Rivian Automotive

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rivian delivered a Q4 surprise: revenue and adjusted loss beat consensus and management issued a strong 2026 delivery outlook, triggering the rally. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management now expects a large jump in 2026 deliveries (guidance ~62k–67k units / ~53% growth year‑over‑year), driven by rollout of the more affordable R2 SUV — investors view this as a clear growth path. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broker activity has turned constructive: notable upgrades/target increases (Deutsche Bank upgrade to Buy with $23 PT; Wedbush reiteration at $25) helped fuel buying interest. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarter details: adjusted loss per share (~$0.54–$0.66 depending on source) beat estimates and revenue was roughly $1.28–1.29B; software/services showed meaningful YoY growth and management highlighted product & software initiatives. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: R2 progress: early reviews and management commentary point to R2 deliveries beginning in Q2 and strong demand potential, but it’s still early in the ramp. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying profitability and revenue mix remain weak: automotive revenue fell sharply (reported ~45% decline in Q4 auto revenue), the company still posts negative net margins and negative ROE. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Cash burn and capex: Rivian flagged continued losses as it ramps production and may spend >$2.1B on capex for expansion; a recent settlement also pressures near‑term cash. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Operational risks remain: some metrics (vehicle margins, free cash flow) showed weakness even with the beat — the company still expects losses as it scales, leaving execution risk on the table. Article Title

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.