Needham reiterated a Buy rating on Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) and cut their 12-month price target on the auto stock to $22.00 (From $25.00) after trimming 2024 delivery estimates.
Needham has revised their 2024 delivery estimate for Rivian to approximately 70,000 units, down from around 75,000. This adjustment is based on their anticipation of insights from a conference call addressing the R1 production shutdown and subsequent re-ramping in the second and third quarters.
The reduction in unit estimates has led to a decrease in gross margin estimates, prompting an increase in capital needs to $6 billion in Needham's model, up from $5.5 billion.
“We see RIVN as well positioned ahead of their eventual R2 launch, but in need of positive near term datapoints to ignite investor enthusiasm for a vehicle with a 2026 launch.” Needham analysts wrote in a note.
Although this development is not expected to significantly impact the stock, Needham sees Rivian's potential unveiling of the R2 in early March as an additional indicator of the company's execution capabilities.
Shares of RIVN are down 2.15% in pre-market trading Thursday morning.