Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) Trading Down 18.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) dropped 18.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $16.38 and last traded at $16.49. 89,906,186 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 191% from the average session volume of 30,918,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.14.

Trending Headlines about Rivian Automotive

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

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane raised its price target on Rivian to $24 from $22 and kept an outperform rating, signaling confidence that the stock still has meaningful upside.
• Positive Sentiment: Rivian recently broke above its 20-day moving average, which technical traders often view as a short-term bullish signal and a sign the stock may be stabilizing after the recent drop.
• Neutral Sentiment: Rivian completed pricing for a 75 million-share offering at $15.50 per share, raising about $1.2 billion in gross proceeds. The capital should help fund manufacturing scale-up, debt-related needs, and the R2 launch, but it also adds dilution for existing shareholders. Rivian Automotive, Inc. Announces Pricing of Underwritten Public Offering of Common Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Rivian’s director Karen Boone sold 20,000 shares in a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan, which is not usually a strong negative signal by itself, but it may add to investor caution. Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) Director Karen Boone Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest headwind is dilution risk from the new equity sale, which has prompted concern that Rivian still needs outside capital to support growth and cover ongoing cash burn.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on RIVN. Wall Street Zen upgraded Rivian Automotive from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of Rivian Automotive from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Rivian Automotive in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Rivian Automotive in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Rivian Automotive from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.81.

Rivian Automotive Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $22.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.14 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The electric vehicle automaker reported ($0.55) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by $0.05. Rivian Automotive had a negative return on equity of 75.65% and a negative net margin of 63.62%.The business had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.48) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Rivian Automotive, Inc. will post -3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rivian Automotive

In related news, Director Karen Boone sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $400,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 110,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,200,000. This trade represents a 15.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Claire Mcdonough sold 8,023 shares of Rivian Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total value of $128,368.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 887,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,192,112. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their position. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 100,076 shares of company stock worth $1,656,286. Insiders own 1.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rivian Automotive

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Rivian Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $220,323,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Rivian Automotive by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 16,397,496 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock worth $323,195,000 after purchasing an additional 4,012,386 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Rivian Automotive by 13.2% during the 4th 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. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,918,852 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Rivian Automotive by 1,353.6% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 2,058,284 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock valued at $28,281,000 after buying an additional 1,916,686 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.25% of the company’s stock.

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.