Rivian Stock Slips After Vehicle Recall As Investors Weigh Leadership Change

Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) shares are trading lower on Tuesday as the company faces scrutiny following a recent recall of nearly 20,000 vehicles due to a defect that may increase the risk of a crash. Here’s what investors need to know.

• Rivian Automotive stock is trading near recent highs. Where is RIVN stock headed?

Why Rivian’s Leadership Change Matters Now

The company recently appointed Greg Revelle as Chief Customer Officer, aiming to enhance its go-to-market strategy. Additionally, Wolfe Research downgraded Rivian from peer perform to underperform while maintaining a price target of $16, and Piper Sandler raised its target from $14 to $20, reflecting mixed sentiment among analysts.

In its preliminary fourth-quarter results, Rivian reported producing nearly 11,000 vehicles and delivering around 10,000, aligning with its expectations. The company produced a total of 42,284 vehicles in 2025, with deliveries closely matching production figures, indicating stable operational performance despite the recall.

Key Metrics Reveal Rivian’s Resilience Amid Challenges

Rivian is currently trading 4.6% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) but is 21.4% above its 100-day SMA, demonstrating longer-term strength. Over the past 12 months, shares have increased by 40.51% and are positioned closer to their 52-week highs than lows.

The RSI stands at 51.44, indicating neutral momentum, while the MACD is below its signal line, suggesting bearish pressure on the stock. The combination of neutral RSI and bearish MACD suggests mixed momentum.

• Key Resistance: $22.50
• Key Support: $15.50

Is Analyst Sentiment A Red Flag?

Investors are looking ahead to the next earnings report on February 12.

• EPS Estimate: Loss of 84 cents (Down from a loss of 46 cents YoY)
• Revenue Estimate: $1.26 billion (Down from $1.73 billion YoY)

Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Hold Rating with an average price target of $16.15. Recent analyst moves include:

• Wolfe Research: Upgraded to Underperform
• Piper Sandler: Neutral (Raised Target to $20.00)
• Wedbush: Outperform (Raised Target to $25.00)

Benzinga Edge Rankings

Below is the Benzinga Edge scorecard for Rivian Automotive, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses compared to the broader market:

• Momentum: Bullish (Score: 87.98) — Stock is outperforming the broader market.

The Verdict: Rivian Automotive’s Benzinga Edge signal reveals a strong momentum setup. While the momentum score indicates a positive trend, investors should remain cautious given the recent recall and mixed analyst sentiment.

Top ETF Exposure

• First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund (NASDAQ:QCLN): 7.91% Weight
• iShares Self-Driving EV and Tech ETF (NYSE:IDRV): 4.40% Weight
• VanEck Low Carbon Energy ETF (NYSE:SMOG): 3.47% Weight

Significance: Because RIVN carries such a heavy weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock.

Price Action

RIVN Price Action: Rivian Automotive shares were down 1.98% at $18.77 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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