The Rivian ratings deluge has started. Investors should be happy.
Rivian Automotive (ticker: RIVN) picked up its first rating. It’s a Buy from Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. His price target is $130, almost 25% higher than where Rivian closed for trading on Friday.
Ives calls Rivian an “EV stalwart in the making,” adding the company “looking to strategically launch itself into an untapped market as SUV/Pickup Truck EVs are virtually nonexistent in the EV market today.” Trucks and SUVs are very popular in the U.S., typically accounting for more than 60% of total passenger vehicle sales.
“Rivian is a unique vertically integrated EV player poised to have iron-clad grip on pickup and SUV market,” Ives tells Barron’s in an emailed statement.” R.J. and team have scaled Rivian quickly and innovative design and skateboard front and center.”
R.J. Scaringe is the MIT-educated founder and CEO of Rivian. A skateboard design refers to an automotive chassis that includes many self-contained components including electric motors and batteries. Other auto makers have skateboard-type designs as well.
Ives is also encouraged that Amazon.com (AMZN) is an early investor and early customer, ordering 100,000 delivery trucks from Rivian.
Given it’s the first rating, it’s the first chance for investors to look at estimates. Ives projects $3.6 billion in sales from about 45,000 vehicle deliveries in 2022 and $8.4 billion in sales from about 105,000 deliveries in 2023. The company isn’t expected to generate profit in either year.
Ives target price implies Rivian stock should trade for roughly 15 times estimated 2023 sales. Shares of Tesla (TSLA), the EV leader, trade for about 11 times estimated 2023 sales.
It’s a big, growth stock valuation, but Ives knows his way around growth stocks. He covers EVs and technology stocks such as Salesforce.com (CRM). On the automotive side of his coverage list, Ives rates shares of Tesla and General Motors (GM) both Buy. His price target for Tesla stock is $1,400 a share. His price target for GM is $85 a share.
The Buy ratings on GM, Tesla, and now Rivian are predicated on Ives’ belief that EVs will become the dominant form of personal transportation in coming years.
More Rivian ratings will follow this one — most likely arriving on Monday. Wall Street brokers involved in an IPO have to wait 25 days to launch coverage. Including weekends, the prohibition has now lapsed.
Rivian investors will welcome some Buy ratings. The stock is down from a November 16 high of almost $180 a share. Rivian stock fell 6.7% this past week in what was a tough week for growth stocks. The Russell 1000 Growth Index dropped 2.2%. The S&P 500 fell 1.2% for the week and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.9%.
Write to Al Root at [email protected]
