The future for electric auto company Rivian is bright despite cooling investor appetite for the industry this year, according to Canaccord Genuity. Analyst George Gianarikas began his coverage of the stock with a buy rating, saying in a note to clients on Wednesday that the company had a solid foundation to develop into a leading electric vehicle firm. “Rivian has the ingredients to develop into a leader in the EV and mobility marketplace. The company has amassed strong talent, a robust balance sheet, a durable Amazon partnership, and the proper vertically integrated strategy. After some growing pains since its IPO in late 2021, management must now execute. We are confident it will,” Gianarikas wrote. Amazon revealed a 20% stake in Rivian last year , which has hurt the tech giant’s earnings in 2022 as Rivian’s stock has plunged 70%. Ford also has a stake in Rivian, but it dumped some of those holdings earlier this year. Bloomberg News reported earlier this week that Rivian was planning layoffs. However, for the automaker, the Amazon deal has made the pathway for growth clearer, Canaccord said. “Not only has the relationship with Amazon provided Rivian with capital and an initial order, but strategically it has afforded Rivian immediate scale through which it can achieve several cost, manufacturing, and design advantages,” Gianarikas wrote. If Canaccord is correct, then the Rivian deal will be a boost for Amazon and Ford in the coming quarters. The investment firm set a price target of $61 per share for Rivian, which is more that double where the stock closed on Tuesday. Elsewhere in the electric vehicle space, Gianarikas also has a buy rating on Tesla , with a price target of $801 per share.
