Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) is climbing on Monday after UBS upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy, after a strong third-quarter operating performance.

UBS analyst Joseph Spak raised his rating on the electric vehicle maker on Monday while maintaining a price forecast of $17.

The upgrade follows financial results reported on Thursday, when Rivian posted third-quarter revenue of $2.155 billion. The total represents a 38% increase year over year and topped the Street consensus estimate of $1.984 billion. Automotive revenue reached $1.55 billion, while Software and Services generated $605 million. The company reported an adjusted loss of 48 cents per share, beating consensus expectations of a 62-cent loss.

Strong Delivery Outlook

Rivian delivered 19,248 vehicles in the third quarter from production of 19,751 units. Management noted the newly released R2 vehicle was its best seller by volume. The company raised the lower boundary of its full-year delivery guidance to between 67,000 and 70,000 units, up from the previous range of 65,000 to 70,000 units. Rivian also narrowed its projected adjusted EBITDA loss to between $1.85 billion and $1.75 billion, marking an improvement of $100 million at the midpoint.

Technical Analysis

Rivian is still in a longer-term downtrend: at $12.94, the stock is trading 0.9% above its 20-day SMA ($12.83) but 10.9% below its 50-day SMA ($14.53), with an even wider gap versus the 100-day ($15.45) and 200-day ($15.46) averages. The 20-day SMA sitting below the 50-day SMA keeps the near-term trend tilted lower, and the death cross that formed in September (50-day below 200-day) reinforces that the bigger-picture trend hasn’t repaired yet.

Analyst Sentiment

Wall Street sentiment toward Rivian is increasingly positive, with 13 of 25 analysts rating the stock a Buy, seven assigning a Hold and five recommending Sell, resulting in an overall Buy consensus. Analysts have an average price forecast of $18, implying 39.1% upside.

Jefferies upgraded Rivian to Buy on Friday, setting a $17 price forecast. However, caution persists, with Cantor Fitzgerald and Needham lowering their price forecasts to $16 and $18, respectively.

RIVN Stock Price Activity: Rivian shares are trading higher by 9.56% at $13.32 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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