Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.85, but opened at $18.25. Rivian Automotive shares last traded at $17.2420, with a volume of 20,645,394 shares traded.

Key Stories Impacting Rivian Automotive

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

• Positive Sentiment: Forbes asks whether the recent pullback is a buying opportunity after a roughly 24% drop since mid‑December, highlighting upside if investors view the selloff as overdone and focus on long‑term growth potential. Is It Time To Buy The Dip In Rivian Automotive Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks notes RIVN is up ~31% over three months, a momentum point bulls can cite, but the piece also flags slowing deliveries and heavy spending that temper the enthusiasm. Rivian Rises 31% in 3 Months
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks’ market‑update note flags a recent intraday dip versus broader market gains; useful for short‑term traders but not adding new catalyst information. Rivian Automotive (RIVN) Stock Dips While Market Gains
• Negative Sentiment: UBS issued a sell/downgrade, warning that near‑term autonomous vehicle catalysts are missing — a key negative since autonomy is a material part of investor upside expectations. Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) Earns Sell Rating from UBS Group
• Negative Sentiment: MSN coverage reports UBS’s downgrade and emphasizes the absence of near‑term AV catalysts; that coverage broadened reach of the negative analyst call. UBS downgrades Rivian Automotive (RIVN)
• Negative Sentiment: Wolfe Research downgraded Rivian, citing elevated cash burn and delays to AI/autonomy catalysts — another analyst cut that increases pressure on the stock and investor sentiment. Wolfe downgrades Rivian (RIVN)
• Negative Sentiment: Headline coverage (Yahoo/MSN) explains the selloff in plain terms — downgrades, cash‑burn worries and missed/ delayed catalysts — which can amplify short‑term selling. Why Rivian Shares Are Crashing Today
• Negative Sentiment: Additional market notes report shares trading lower after the analyst actions; reinforcement from multiple outlets magnifies the near‑term negative tone. Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) Trading Down 1.6% After Analyst Downgrade

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RIVN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Rivian Automotive from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Rivian Automotive from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Rivian Automotive from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $15.00 price target (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Rivian Automotive in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Rivian Automotive to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rivian Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.13.

Rivian Automotive Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The electric vehicle automaker reported ($0.65) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.71) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. Rivian Automotive had a negative net margin of 61.34% and a negative return on equity of 57.33%. Rivian Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.08) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Rivian Automotive, Inc. will post -3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Rivian Automotive

In related news, CFO Claire Mcdonough sold 8,039 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $144,702.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 730,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,140,306. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert J. Scaringe sold 17,450 shares of Rivian Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $341,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,132,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,143,483.45. This trade represents a 1.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 155,054 shares of company stock valued at $2,733,010 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RIVN. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rivian Automotive by 135.6% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,145 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 20,228 shares in the last quarter. Udine Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rivian Automotive by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Udine Wealth Management Inc. now owns 91,957 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock worth $1,812,000 after acquiring an additional 5,364 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rivian Automotive by 3,715.0% during the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 3,715 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Rivian Automotive by 59.5% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 3,284 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shrier Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Rivian Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Institutional investors 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.