Is Rivian Losing Its Spark? Morgan Stanley Downgrades Amid EV 'Winter'

Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco downgraded Rivian to ‘Underweight’ from ‘Equal Weight’, maintaining a $12 price target.

• Morgan Stanley warned that the electric-vehicle “winter” is likely to persist through 2026.
• The brokerage is ‘moderately more positive’ on the ICE and hybrid vehicles market outlook.
• Morgan Stanley had also downgraded Tesla’s stock to ‘Equal Weight’ from ‘Overweight’.

Shares of Rivian Automotive Inc. (RIVN) declined 3.5% in premarket trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock, citing a cautious outlook for the electric vehicle market.

At the time of writing, RIVN was among the top trending tickers on Stocktwits.

Morgan Stanley Downgrade

Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco downgraded Rivian to Underweight from Equal Weight, maintaining a $12 price target, according to TheFly.

As part of its 2026 autos and shared mobility outlook, Morgan Stanley is taking a more cautious stance, warning that the electric-vehicle “winter” is likely to persist through 2026. This is partly offset by a “moderately more positive” outlook on internal combustion engines and hybrids, the analyst said in a research note.

Percoco had also downgraded rival Tesla to ‘Equal Weight’ from ‘Overweight’ but raised the price target to $425 from $410. While Morgan Stanley still sees Tesla as a future leader in autonomous mobility, renewable energy, and robotics, the stock is trading at 30 times estimated 2030 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), and the brokerage sees near-term risks to consensus estimates. Morgan Stanley prefers to wait for a more attractive entry point.

Rivian’s November Sales

Rivian sold 4,500 vehicles in the U.S. last month, up 14.1% from October and 24.1% from a year earlier, according to Motor Intelligence. Despite this growth, the company has only posted year-over-year gains in three of the past eleven months.

CEO RJ Scaringe had previously warned that sales would soften after a strong third quarter. In October, the EV maker had narrowed its full-year production guidance to 41,500 - 43,500 units, from 40,000 - 46,000 units.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits remained in the ‘neutral’ territory over the past 24 hours.

One user sees Rivian as a speculative stock.

However, some users were bullish.

RIVN stock had gained in nine consecutive sessions prior to closing marginally lower on Friday.

Year-to-date, RIVN stock has gained around 35%.

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