Stock Market Today, Dec. 18: Rivian Automotive Surges To 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade and Higher Price Target

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN), electric truck and SUV maker, closed Thursday’s session at $20.28, up 15.03%. Rivian Automotive IPO'd in 2021 and has fallen about 75% since going public. Trading volume reached 66.4 million shares, about 36% above its three-month average of 49 million shares.

Thursday’s move followed a Robert W. Baird upgrade and new price target, while investors are watching how Rivian executes its autonomy roadmap and 2026 R2 launch.

How the markets moved today

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) added 0.79% to finish at 6,774, while the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) gained 1.38% to 23,006. Within electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing, industry peers Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose 3.45% and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) edged higher by 0.08%, highlighting diverging reactions to product and strategy updates across major EV names.

What this means for investors

Baird's new price target still implies upside of 25% from Rivian's closing price today. The Wall Street firm's "buy" rating comes as Rivian is poised to increase sales and brand recognition with its upcoming R2 SUV.

Rivian also gave investors a roadmap for its path to produce a fully autonomous vehicle in its autonomy and AI day presentation last week. It impressed investors by revealing an in-house AI chip for its autonomy platform. That would likely spur demand further and offer Rivian a new revenue source.

Howard Smith has positions in Rivian Automotive and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.