Wedbush said Rivian’s story is “finally” turning around after a few tough quarters. “We believe that after a series of ‘two steps ahead’ excuses for Rivian and supply chain issues, the company is finally executing,” analyst Daniel Ives wrote in a note Friday. A significant shift in its long-term business model.” The firm maintained its outperform rating while raising its price target to $30 from $25. The new price target implies a 38.7% upside for shares from Thursday’s close. Ives said the company “sees the light at the end of the tunnel” after several quarters of production and supplier issues. He noted that the company beat Wall Street’s expectations for vehicle production in the second quarter and is also in a strong position for the current period. “The electric automaker does believe that it is on track to meet its fiscal 2023 production guidance of 50,000 vehicles, and we believe this is a solid step forward for Rivian as it strives to meet expectations, putting the company in a Well-positioned to continue growing. Cost optimization is one of its biggest strategies while ramping up production,” Ives said. Rivian started delivering RCV vans in Europe earlier this week through a partnership with Amazon. This marks the first commercial delivery of a van to Amazon outside the US, marking Rivian’s entry into a new market. “We remain strong believers in Rivian’s long-term outlook … making it a blockbuster product at current levels,” said Ives, whose shares rose more than 3 percent during premarket trading Friday. Shares are set to gain 17.3% in 2023, but are still losing more than 31% over the past 12 months. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
