Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) Stock Price Down 3.5% on Insider Selling

Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) shares traded down 3.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $15.07 and last traded at $15.59. 28,548,951 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 33,041,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.15.

Specifically, CFO Claire Mcdonough sold 27,133 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.80, for a total value of $455,834.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 680,836 shares in the company, valued at $11,438,044.80. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert J. Scaringe sold 34,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.80, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,044,731 shares in the company, valued at $17,551,480.80. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on RIVN shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Rivian Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Rivian Automotive from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Rivian Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Benchmark lifted their price target on Rivian Automotive from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Rivian Automotive in a report on Friday, February 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.71.

Key Headlines Impacting Rivian Automotive

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and strong 2026 guidance — Rivian reported better-than-expected Q4 revenue and EPS and issued 2026 delivery guidance (62k–67k vehicles), pointing to ~50%+ year-over-year delivery growth and its first full year of positive gross profit; that results print drove recent upside. Can Services 2x Rivian Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness/upgrades — some firms (e.g., Stifel) boosted targets and flagged upside if R2 demand materializes, supporting a constructive analyst narrative that helped lift the stock earlier. Stifel bullishness
• Neutral Sentiment: Balanced analyst view and consensus — the street remains split (Buy/Hold/Sell mix and a MarketBeat consensus “Hold”), so upside is contingent on execution rather than a broad analyst stampede. MarketBeat analyst consensus
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer-term thesis highlighted — pieces note narrowing losses, growing software & services mix and the upcoming lower‑cost R2 as the engine for multi-year growth, but these depend on successful ramp and margin improvement. Can Rivian Stock Beat the Market in 2026?
• Negative Sentiment: DA Davidson downgrade — DA Davidson cut Rivian to Underperform (low $14 PT), warning the 2026 guidance assumes an unusually strong R2 debut; this note raises near-term downside if the R2 ramp disappoints. DA Davidson downgrades Rivian
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by CEO & CFO — CEO Robert Scaringe and CFO Claire McDonough sold shares (~34.9k and ~27.1k shares) on Feb 18 at about $16.80; while both retain large stakes, the concurrent executive sales are weighing on sentiment. Insider trades alert
• Negative Sentiment: R2 execution and demand risk — multiple notes and coverage warn the biggest risk is an R2 ramp or demand miss; given the guidance relies heavily on R2, execution disappointment could quickly reverse gains. What’s going on with Rivian Automotive stock?

Rivian Automotive Trading Down 3.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $19.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.08 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $17.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.41.

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The electric vehicle automaker reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.68) by $0.02. Rivian Automotive had a negative return on equity of 65.05% and a negative net margin of 67.68%.The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.70) earnings per share. Rivian Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Rivian Automotive, Inc. will post -3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rivian Automotive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RIVN. Compound Planning Inc. increased its stake in Rivian Automotive by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 32,284 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares during the last quarter. Evansbrook LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rivian Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $317,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Rivian Automotive by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 172,310 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock valued at $3,396,000 after purchasing an additional 105,594 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rivian Automotive during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Rivian Automotive by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 101,232 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock worth $1,995,000 after buying an additional 6,376 shares during the last quarter. 66.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.