Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) beat analyst estimates for third-quarter revenue and earnings per share and updated its guidance for vehicle deliveries. Tech analyst Dan Ives says this is the quarterly report the company needed.
The Rivian Analyst
Yorkville Ives analyst Dan Ives maintained an Outperform rating on Rivian stock with a price target of $20.
The Analyst Takeaways
Revenue coming in better than expected, record deliveries and losses also being better than expected in the third quarter were among the highlights for Ives.
“Rivian delivered the beat-and-raise quarter the R2 story needed,” Ives said in a new investor note.
The analyst said management said the R2 will carry the company’s automotive business to positive gross margins by the end of the year.
New delivery guidance of 67,000 to 70,000 for the full year implies fourth-quarter deliveries of 25,000 to 28,000, Ives added.
This comes with the R2 seeing strong demand and a second shift now running at the company’s Normal, Illinois facility.
“Rivian’s two engines are now coming into sharper focus: R2 is becoming the volume platform, and the software and autonomy stack is creating value beyond the vehicle.”
Ives also highlighted the company’s joint ventures with Volkswagen and Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER). The Uber venture is expected to unlock another $250 million of equity by the end of the year toward a 2028 robotaxi launch.
The analyst said Rivian’s AI efforts and self-driving technology may be undervalued and become future catalysts at the company’s Dec. 9 Autonomy and AI Day.
“In our view this is the piece of Rivian the Street has yet to fully value.”
Rivian Stock Price Action
Rivian stock was up 4.6% to $11.98 in premarket trading Friday versus a 52-week trading range of $11.38 to $22.69.
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