NEW YORK, Jan 15, 2026, 05:00 ET — Premarket
Rivian Automotive’s shares eased 0.2% to $17.47 in premarket trading on Thursday, after the stock sank 7.2% in the previous session. The slide followed a UBS downgrade that questioned whether optimism around the EV maker’s next model and software push is already in the price. 1
UBS analyst Joseph Spak cut Rivian to Sell from Hold and lifted his 12-month price target — his forecast for where the stock could trade — to $15 from $13, Barron’s reported. Spak wrote the stock had gone “too far too fast” and warned that expectations for the company’s R2 launch could set it up for disappointment. Rivian had climbed 44% over the past three months, and about 30% of analysts now rate the stock a sell, Barron’s said. 2
The downgrades come as investors wait for Rivian’s next hard checkpoint: fourth-quarter and full-year results due Feb. 12 after markets close. Rivian delivered 42,247 vehicles in 2025, down about 18% from a year earlier, and is preparing to start delivering its lower-cost R2 SUV in the first half of 2026, Reuters reported. 3
Earlier this week, Wolfe Research analyst Emmanuel Rosner also downgraded the stock to Sell with a $16 target, arguing the company faces a near-term “catalyst vacuum” before autonomy-related benefits show up later. Rosner said Rivian needs a stronger focus on artificial intelligence, similar to Tesla, especially in autonomous driving and subscription-based services, Barron’s wrote. 4
Rivian has also been reshuffling its leadership as it gears up for the R2, hiring Greg Revelle as chief customer officer to oversee sales, marketing and operations, WardsAuto reported. 5
Traders were busy in derivatives on Wednesday. Rivian options volume was running at roughly three times the daily average, with calls — contracts that profit if a stock rises — outnumbering puts by about 1.5 to 1, Charles Schwab’s daily options update said. 6
The stock swung through $17.07 to $18.25 on Wednesday before finishing at $17.50. It traded lower again early Thursday, but the premarket move was modest after the prior session’s drop. 7
But the downside case is not hard to sketch: any slip on quality or execution can hit sentiment fast in this name. Rivian is recalling 19,641 previously serviced R1S and R1T vehicles in the U.S. over an improperly reassembled rear toe link, the U.S. safety regulator said last week. The company was aware of one crash with minor injuries linked to the issue, Reuters reported. 8
