Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

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 changing hands.

Rivian Automotive News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO RJ Scaringe named a keynote speaker at ACT Expo 2026 — continued visibility in commercial and fleet channels supports Rivian’s long‑term commercial EV narrative. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Feature pieces highlighting Rivian as a significant non‑Tesla EV contender may help rebuild retail interest over time. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains around “Hold,” a mixed signal that leaves valuation upside/downside dependent on execution rather than fresh analyst enthusiasm. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest report in the feed appears to contain erroneous/zero values — treat that data point cautiously; it does not meaningfully explain today’s move. (Internal trading data entry)
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple price‑prediction and technical‑trend articles note recent share weakness over the past week; these narratives can amplify volatility but are not new fundamental news. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: UBS downgraded RIVN to Sell (price target moved toward the mid‑teens) — this was the headline catalyst for today’s selling pressure as UBS cited valuation and execution risks. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Wolfe Research also lowered its rating (Underperform/Lower) — a second major shop cutting coverage increases the odds of further weakness as momentum traders and funds adjust positioning. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Rivian’s recall of nearly 20,000 R1 vehicles after a service‑procedure issue and subsequent production/customer updates raise near‑term cost and execution questions that analysts are factoring into cuts. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cfra Research raised shares of Rivian Automotive to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Rivian Automotive from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Wolfe Research cut Rivian Automotive from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Rivian Automotive from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Rivian Automotive in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.03.

Rivian Automotive Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $21.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.51 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.98.

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

Insider Activity at Rivian Automotive

In related news, CEO Robert J. Scaringe sold 52,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.60, for a total transaction of $869,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,246,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,690,323. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peter Krawiec sold 3,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.45, for a total transaction of $71,089.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $566,422.90. This represents a 11.15% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 155,054 shares of company stock valued at $2,733,010 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RIVN. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rivian Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $6,617,000. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in Rivian Automotive in the 4th quarter worth about $612,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in Rivian Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at about $220,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Rivian Automotive by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,333 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in Rivian Automotive by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 32,627 shares of the electric vehicle automaker’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,748 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.