Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) Shares Up 6% – Here’s Why

Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) shares rose 6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $17.15 and last traded at $16.97. Approximately 35,198,883 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 15% from the average session volume of 30,707,393 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RIVN has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Rivian Automotive from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Rivian Automotive from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Rivian Automotive in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Rivian Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Rivian Automotive in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.95.

Rivian Automotive Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $24.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.58 and a beta of 1.61.

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The electric vehicle automaker reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.66) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Rivian Automotive had a negative return on equity of 73.90% and a negative net margin of 54.96%.The company’s revenue was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.97) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Rivian Automotive, Inc. will post -2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rivian Automotive news, CEO Robert J. Scaringe sold 34,818 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $522,270.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 922,286 shares in the company, valued at $13,834,290. This represents a 3.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Karen Boone sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $400,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 110,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,000. The trade was a 15.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 84,008 shares of company stock worth $1,369,594. Company insiders own 1.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rivian Automotive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Rivian Automotive during the 4th quarter worth 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 purchasing an additional 4,012,386 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Rivian Automotive during the second quarter worth $49,915,000. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,418,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $31,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918,852 shares in 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.