Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) Trading Down 1.8% – Should You Sell?

Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN)’s share price fell 1.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $15.50 and last traded at $15.53. 16,864,501 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 30,331,170 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.82.

Rivian Automotive News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Uber agreed to invest up to $1.25 billion and commit to buying thousands of R2 robotaxis (initial phase: 10,000 with options for many more), giving Rivian a material commercial partner and potential multi?year revenue pipeline tied to autonomy. BusinessWire: Uber and Rivian Partner
• Positive Sentiment: Uber is deploying initial funding (reported ~$300M up front) and the deal ties additional payments and vehicle purchase options to autonomy milestones — a de?risked funding path for Rivian’s costly self?drive buildout. Yahoo Finance: Uber Invests $300M
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are leaning more bullish on Rivian’s pivot to the lower?priced R2 and autonomy strategy; a few firms raised price targets or reiterated buys, supporting upside expectations into the R2 rollout. Seeking Alpha: Analysts on Uber Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Immediate market reaction: the stock initially spiked on the Uber deal but has seen rapid profit?taking and choppy intraday trading as investors parse timing, milestones and execution risk. Invezz: Volatility After Uber Deal
• Negative Sentiment: Rivian disclosed it’s spending heavily on autonomy and has pushed out its expected 2027 profitability goal, which raises near?term cash?burn and execution risk — a clear negative for short?term earnings visibility. TechCrunch: Profit Goal Sacrificed
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO RJ (Robert) Scaringe sold ~17,450 shares last week (filed with the SEC); while small relative to his stake, it can amplify short?term downside or momentum selling. SEC Form 4: Scaringe Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure — geopolitical tensions and rising oil prices have pushed inflation and growth concerns into headlines today, prompting risk?off flows that weighed on EV and growth names including RIVN. Yahoo Finance: Geopolitical Headwinds

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RIVN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Rivian Automotive from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Rivian Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Rivian Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group raised Rivian Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Rivian Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rivian Automotive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.05.

Rivian Automotive Stock Down 7.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The company has a market cap of $18.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.86 and a beta of 1.75. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.82.

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The electric vehicle automaker reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.68) by $0.14. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.70) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rivian Automotive, Inc. will post -3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Rivian Automotive

In other news, CFO Claire Mcdonough sold 27,133 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.80, for a total transaction of $455,834.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 680,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,438,044.80. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert J. Scaringe sold 34,900 shares of Rivian Automotive stock in a transaction on 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 149,283 shares of company stock worth $2,570,949. 2.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rivian Automotive

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Rivian Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at $220,323,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $323,195,000 after buying an additional 4,012,386 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rivian Automotive by 3.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,673,512 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock worth $1,198,967,000 after buying an additional 2,597,310 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Rivian Automotive by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,769,844 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock worth $409,374,000 after buying an additional 2,418,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 valued at $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.

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.