Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN) Shares popped 6.5% Wednesday, adding to Monday’s gains after the electric vehicle maker reported 12,640 deliveries during the second quarter. The deliveries were up 59% from the previous quarter and beat analyst expectations of 11,000 vehicles, according to StreetAccount.
Also, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) said it will deploy its first European vans from the company in Germany over the coming weeks as part of long-term plans to electrify its transportation network. Amazon said 300 electric Rivian vans will take to the roads in the Munich, Berlin, and Düsseldorf regions. The vans are part of the 100K-vehicle order made by Amazon in 2019. The Seattle e-commerce giant holds a 17% stake in Rivian.
Rivian also attracted some positive attention on Wall Street. D.A. Davidson upgraded Rivian to a Neutral rating after having the electric vehicle maker slotted at Underperform. Elsewhere, Needham reiterated a Buy rating on Rivian Automotive and added the EV stock to its Conviction List.
The firm lifted its price target on RIVN to $28 to factor in better than expected Q2 production and delivery numbers. Analyst Chris Pierce said RIVN is answering three key questions from investors: (1) is there demand for its vehicles; (2) can the vehicles be manufactured at increasing scale; and (3) is there leverage on per-unit costs. Pierce and team think RIVN investor sentiment should start to reflect increased confidence in the R2 vehicle, which opens up a significantly larger total addressable market.
RIVN shares gained 62 cents, or 3.2%, to $20.18.
