By Chibuike Oguh
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Shares of Rivian Automotive surged more than 18% on Friday as it continued to rally after the electric vehicle (EV) maker reported better-than-expected quarterly deliveries early this week.
Rivian said on Monday it delivered 12,640 vehicles in the second quarter on steady demand from customers, beating market estimates. That result was in line with that of market leader Tesla Inc, which on Sunday reported record quarterly vehicle deliveries fueled by incentives such as prices cuts and U.S. federal credits.
The shares of several EV makers have risen since last week on market expectations of strong quarterly delivery reports.
Rivian set a record daily trading volume on Friday, with more than 180 million shares changing hands, according to Refinitiv. The stock is currently popular among retail investors, being the second most actively traded stock after Tesla on Fidelity's customer platform and it is among the top trending equities on social media site stocktwits.com.
Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for Rivian's stock as the EV maker is seen as having overcome production and supply chain challenges that restricted deliveries.
Rivian's stock jumped to $25.63 on Friday, a 2023 peak. It has gained roughly 85% over the past eight sessions and is up nearly 40% year-to-date.
"The Street saw some further proof that the long-awaited Rivian success story may just be on its way and we believe more good news is on the horizon as we look into the next 12 to 18 months with Rivian," Wedbush analysts said in an investor note on raising their price target to $30 from $25.
Twenty-three Wall Street brokerages covering Rivian on average recommend buying the stock and set a median price target of $24, Refinitiv data showed.
Rivian's shares soared to an intraday record high of around $179 days after the company's blockbuster initial public offering in November 2021, but they have sputtered as it has struggled to deliver its electric vehicles including the R1T pickup trucks and R1S SUVs.
Irvine, California-based Rivian said it is focused on boosting production and reaffirmed its forecast of making 50,000 cars this year despite laying off 6% of its 14,000 workforce.
(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Editing by Richard Chang and Susan Fenton)
