Rivian Stock Tumbles on Bank of America Downgrade

Key Takeaways

Rivian (

RIVN

) shares slumped 8% on Monday after Bank of America analysts downgraded the electric vehicle maker’s stock.

The analysts downgraded Rivian stock to “underperform” from “neutral,” and lowered their price target to $10 from $13. They noted a “generally soft” demand environment for EVs, and said shifting priorities of the
Trump administration
away from EVs could hurt Rivian’s business.

“Given the Trump Administration’s focus on cost cutting, we believe there could be risk to RIVN’s $6.6 [billion]
Department of Energy loan
closed by the Biden Administration
on [Jan. 16
],” the analysts wrote.

Bank of America analysts are now the lone “sell” or equivalent rating among those tracked by Visible Alpha, along with four “buy” and 10 “hold” ratings.

BofA Says ‘More Downside Risk’ to Forecasts If Policy Changes Enacted

The analysts said Rivian’s
forecast for 2025
was “softer than expected,” and that “there could be more downside risk if policy changes are enacted.”
Rivian’s joint venture
with German auto giant
Volkswagen
is also “complicating” projections for the EV startup over the next four years, they wrote.

Further, the analysts said a rising number of electric SUV and crossover competitors, including new models entering the market over the next two years from Lucid (

LCID

), Scout, General Motors’ (

GM

) Chevrolet, and Ford (

F

), could also complicate Rivian’s sales picture.

Despite Monday’s declines, Rivian shares have risen nearly 20% over the past 12 months.

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