Rivian extends 2-day gain to 19% as Wedbush says the company's turnaround in EV production is taking hold

• Rivian stock extended its two-day gain to 19% on Friday after Wedbush increased its price target.
• Wedbush said Rivian is seeing a turnaround in its EV production and should reach its 50,000 delivery target this year.
• Wedbush expects the company to trade to $30 a share, which represents potential upside of 25%.

Rivian stock extended its two-day gain to as much as 19% on Friday after Wedbush increased its price target for the electric vehicle maker to $30 a share, representing potential upside of 25% from current levels.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives highlighted the company's second-quarter production results of 13,992 vehicles, which helped fuel "an impressive" delivery number of 12,640 vehicles. Wall Street consensus had expected just 11,000 deliveries.

The encouraging results should put the company on track to meet its 2023 production guidance of 50,000 units, according to Ives.

"We believe this is a solid step forward for Rivian in its efforts to deliver on expectations, putting the company in a great position to continue its production ramp while hammering in on cost optimization as one of its largest strategies," Ives said.

Rivian's recent stock surge is helping the company claw back some of the losses it experienced since it went public near the end of 2022. The stock is up 105% from its April 26 low of $11.68, but is still down 87% from its November 2021 high of $179.47.

A series of production woes, combined with a weak environment for high growth stocks in 2022, helped drive much of Rivian's stock price decline over the past year. But according to Ives, the production problems Rivian faced should mostly be over.

"After quarters of disappointing production speed bumps, supplier issues, and what felt like an ongoing agita situation, Rivian now appears to have its production and supply chain issues well under control with the laser focus on getting deliveries in the hands of eagerly awaiting customers," Ives said.

Another growth driver for Rivian is its partnership with Amazon, which centers around the delivery of 100,000 electric delivery vans by 2030. Ives said that partnership is "on track" as Rivian begins to make its first Amazon van deliveries in Europe ahead of schedule.

"With the first 300 vans expected to hit the road over the coming weeks in Munich, Berlin, and Düsseldorf and over 3,000 vans across the United States today, we believe this was a great first step not only showing a small testament to Rivian finally stepping up to the plate and harnessing its production situation but also establishing a presence in Europe," Ives said.

Ives said that as demand for last-mile delivery vehicles continues to rise, the global market value for the electric van market is poised to be worth about $22 billion, representing a big opportunity for Rivian.

"We continue to strongly believe in the Rivian long-term story and view a number of positive catalysts ahead along with firming demand and production making this a table pounder at current levels," Ives said.

Ives maintained his "Outperform" rating on the car company.