Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) Trading Down 1.9% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) traded down 1.9% on Wednesday after DA Davidson downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an underperform rating. DA Davidson now has a $14.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $15.00. Rivian Automotive traded as low as $16.07 and last traded at $16.15. 29,975,430 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 33,178,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.47.

RIVN has been the subject of several other research reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Rivian Automotive in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Rivian Automotive from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Rivian Automotive from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research raised Rivian Automotive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Rivian Automotive from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Nine equities research 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Peter Krawiec sold 3,655 shares of Rivian Automotive stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.45, for a total transaction of $71,089.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $566,422.90. The trade was a 11.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 680,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,438,044.80. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 182,187 shares of company stock worth $3,185,878 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.16% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Rivian Automotive

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results and 2026 guidance point to an inflection — Rivian reported its first full year of positive gross profit, beat Q4 revenue/eps expectations, and gave 2026 vehicle delivery guidance implying ~50%+ YoY growth; markets initially rewarded the print. Rivian Automotive (RIVN) Is Up 11.6% After First Full Year of Positive Gross Profit
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: Stifel raised its price target to $20 (buy) and other firms including Deutsche Bank have increased targets/ratings, supporting upside narrative if R2 demand materializes. Stifel target raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Long-term thesis highlighted by some analysts: commentary notes narrowing losses, stronger Software & Services mix, and a mass-market R2 that could drive multi-year delivery growth; these are contingent on execution. Rivian mass-market model analysis
• Negative Sentiment: DA Davidson downgrade/analyst caution: DA Davidson moved to underperform ($14 PT), citing worry that Rivian’s guidance assumes an unusually strong R2 debut — this raises short-term downside if the R2 ramp disappoints. DA Davidson downgrades Rivian Automotive (RIVN)
• Negative Sentiment: R2 execution risk is front-and-center — multiple notes and headlines say elevated uncertainty around R2 demand and manufacturing ramp could reverse recent gains if deliveries miss. R2 launch risks weigh on stock
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by top executives: CEO Robert Scaringe sold 34,900 shares and CFO Claire Mcdonough sold 27,133 shares at ~$16.80 each on Feb 18; both reduced ownership by ~3–4% though they retain large stakes — raises governance/near-term sentiment concerns. CEO Form 4 CFO Form 4

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rivian Automotive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Rivian Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $220,323,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rivian Automotive by 3.3% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Rivian Automotive by 13.2% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Rivian Automotive by 496.6% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.25% of the company’s stock.

Rivian Automotive Trading Down 1.9%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.41. The company has a market cap of $19.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.26 and a beta of 1.76. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Rivian Automotive had a negative return on equity of 65.05% and a negative net margin of 67.68%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.70) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Rivian Automotive, Inc. will post -3.2 EPS for the current year.

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.