Piper Sandler analysts raised their rating on Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) from Neutral to Overweight, citing the post-earnings sell-off and reassessment of their capital expenditure (capex) outlook.
“Make no mistake: buying RIVN is risky and a botched midyear re-tooling effort could yet surprise investors negatively,” analysts said in a note.
“But the newly-unveiled R2 SUV generated 68k orders in less than 24 hours, and we think its sibling, the R3, could be one of the most compelling designs on the market when it is released,” they added.
The growing excitement surrounding new product launches, along with the decision to postpone capex and build R2 within an existing plant, is expected to encourage investors to take a more optimistic approach, Piper Sandler’s analysts noted.
The broker also raised its target price on RIVN from $15 to $21 “to reflect new guidance following the R2 unveiling.”