Yesterday, Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) shocked Wall Street by not just unveiling the R2 midsize SUV but also the R3 and R3X midsize crossovers. The electric vehicle (EV) company also announced that it had halted construction of its $5 billion manufacturing plant in Georgia, opting to initially build the R2 in its existing Normal, Illinois facility. This move will free up $2.25 billion in capital spending for the time being. It’s not clear when construction in Georgia will resume.
“Our Georgia site remains really important to us,” said CEO RJ Scaringe. “It’s core to the scaling across all these vehicles, between R2, R3 and R3X. And we’re so appreciative of all the partnership we’ve had there.”
The R2 will carry a starting price of $45,000, while the version equipped with the larger 4695 battery pack will have a range of over 300 miles and a 0 to 60 mph time of less than three seconds under the quickest powertrain configuration. Production has been set to the first half of 2026.
RIVN Stock: Deutsche Raises Price Target to $15
Following the news, Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner raised his RIVN price target to $15 from $12 while maintaining a “hold” rating. Rosner pointed out several positive factors from the R2 launch, such as an earlier-than-expected production date and lower costs from the delayed Georgia plant.
On TipRanks, Rosner is ranked at #7,126 among 8,768 Wall Street analysts. He carries a success rate of 36% and an average one-year return of a loss of 1.7%.
Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro joined in on the fun too, reiterating his $18 price target and “buy” rating. The analyst noted that Rivian has enough capital to begin R2 production “versus our prior expectation cash was needed to complete the R2 launch.”
RIVN stock carries an average price target of $18.73 among all analysts. That implies an upside of about 45% from current levels.
Reservations for the R2 are currently open. In the U.S., customers must pay a $100 refundable deposit. In Canada, the deposit is $150. As for the R3 and R3X, reservations are not yet available.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
