Rivian stock hit an all-time low last week as Ford sold shares. Should you buy the dip?
RoschetzkyIstockPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) stock hit an all-time low last week, despite the company reaffirming its production forecast and holding $17B in the bank. Early investors, including automaking giant Ford (F), have cashed out some of their holdings in the electric vehicle maker, which came public last year amid a swirl of optimism.
Has the stock fallen far enough that you should buy the dip?
Ford Trims Its RIVN Investment
While all four of the leading American EV stocks have tumbled over the past 30 days amid market turbulence and supply chain issues, Rivian shares have fared the worst. The stock has dropped 39% over that time.
In comparison, as of Monday, Tesla (TSLA) shares have dropped 28%, Fisker (FSR) has declined 22% and Lucid (LCID) has retreated 20%. During the same timeframe, the S&P 500 has slid 10%.
The Rivian sell-off has been stoked in part by the expiration of its IPO lockup period. On May 7, CNBC reported that Ford (F), one of Rivianâs biggest investors, and another unnamed stockholder planned to unload around 23M shares after the lockup expired.
The stock dipped on May 9, the day the lockout expired, and again on May 11 after Ford (F) confirmed it had sold about 8M shares. An early investor in Rivian, Ford had originally planned to co-develop an EV line with Rivian, but later scrapped the idea, choosing instead to focus on its own EVs. 
Hurt by news of the F sale, RIVN retreated to a 52-week low of $19.25.
Rivian managed to bounce off this level following the release of its earnings report, which turned out to be better than expected. The quarterly update drove shares higher 18% on May 12. While Rivianâs results missed analyst estimates, investors were heartened that the company was sticking by its 2022 production target of 25K vehicles, despite ongoing supply chain problems. Rivian added that it had produced around 5K vehicles as of May 9.
Rivian also reported that it had more than 90K net orders for its R1 vehicle, along with an initial 100k order by Amazon for an electric delivery vehicle, or EDV, it designed specifically for the e-commerce giant. Amazon remains a major investor in Rivian.
The EV maker also revealed it was operating deeply in the red, reporting a Q1 net loss of $1.6B on revenue of $95 million. Despite the massive loss, Rivian said it still had $17B in cash as of March 31, thanks largely to its huge IPO that raised close to $12B. The company also indicated it had enough cash to launch its next model, the R2, at its new Georgia facility in 2025.
Despite the relatively upbeat forecast, Rivian generated more bad news on Friday the 13th when it issued its first recall. Adding to its woes, filings revealed Ford had unloaded another 7M shares for around $188M. Ford still own around 87M shares, or about 9.7% of the companyâs stock, according to The Wall Street Journal.
While Ford has been reducing its position in Rivian, Amazon appears to be staying put. As of May 11, the e-commerce giant still had a 17.7% stake in Rivian, according to Bloomberg.
Is RIVN a Buy?
Wall Street analysts, on average, have a Buy rating on Rivian. As of Monday morning, seven analysts rated the stock a Strong Buy, four as a Buy and five a Hold. None rated it a Sell.
SA authors, meanwhile, have rated the Rivian a Hold, on average. 
In a note dated May 12, analysts at Piper Sandler maintained their Overweight rating for Rivian, arguing that managementâs comments that the company could launch the R2 platform with cash on hand was heartening as it meant the company wouldnât have to raise cash before 2025.
âWe think these comments will help reassure jittery investors who are shunning unprofitable, capital-intensive businesses like Rivian,â Piper analysts wrote. âMacro headwinds non-withstanding, the stock remains among our top picks.â
Analysts at Wedbush were more critical, despite maintaining an Outperform rating. The firm called RIVN âa trainwreck since its IPO and an overall black eye for the EV industryâ due to a series of setbacks and poor communication with the Street.
âWe believe Rivian from a core engineering and design perspective along with the Amazon commercial relationship has potential has potential to be a major EV stalwart over the next decade,â wrote the Wedbush analysts in a note dated May 11. âHowever, for that to happen, they need to start delivering models to customers and stop the excuses.â
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank said in a note on May 16 that it sees the expiration of Rivianâs lockup period, which affects around 80% of its stock, to continue to weigh on shares in the near-term.
âWe expect additional technical pressure on RIVN stock in the days and weeks to come, as early investors monetize some of their position,â they wrote.
For a more in-depth view of Rivian, see SA contributor Bill Maurerâs âRivian Rises on Decent Q1 Report.â For another perspective, turn to SA contributor JR Researchâs âRivian: The Post Lockup Selling Onslaught Begins on May 9â.