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Rivian stock surges to start the year on better-than-expected EV deliveries
Rivian ( RIVN ) stock jumped more than 24% Friday as the EV maker reported better-than-expected vehicle sales for its quarter ending Dec. 31.
Rivian said Friday that it delivered nearly 14,200 EVs during the fourth quarter, bringing its yearly sales volume to roughly 51,580 electric trucks — within the company's prior guidance. Wall Street analysts had expected the company to deliver closer to 13,400 EVs for the period and 51,000 for the year.
Rivian stock had a rough 2024. Shares ended the year down 40% from 2023 and nearly 90% from their all-time high above $100 in the company's high-profile market debut in 2021 .
After its blockbuster IPO three years ago, the Amazon-backed EV maker has faced a mountain of obstacles : First, it grappled with a shortage of necessary computer chips ; then, there was a wider market shift away from electric cars just as competition from mainstay Tesla ( TSLA ) was heating up . The company has undergone a massive cost-cutting campaign, slashing its workforce in multiple rounds of layoffs starting as early as 2022 and redesigning car components to make production less expensive.
Even with those efforts, Rivian’s operating losses mounted in the past year. In its third quarter last year, Rivian’s revenue fell for the first time since it went public, dropping 35% to $874 million versus the $980 million expected by analysts as the company faced yet another production disruption thanks to a miscommunication with a key supplier .
Rivian’s fourth quarter deliveries number released Friday “affirms that supply issues were isolated to Q3,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan wrote in a note to shareholders Friday. Narayan holds a Neutral rating on the stock and sees shares hovering around $12 over the next 12 months. The stock was trading above $16 Friday.
Meanwhile, CFRA analyst Garrett Nelson maintained his Sell rating on Rivian shares, with a price target of just $8, noting Rivian’s “bottom-line losses are likely to continue for the foreseeable future.”
Rivian will report its full fourth quarter results on Feb. 20 .