Rivian extends gains as analysts turn more bullish

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:) shares are up a further 8% in early Wednesday trading on several positive headlines.

The company has started delivering the electric vans it makes for Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:) to Europe — marking its first commercial shipments outside the U.S.

Shares initially rose 17.4% on Monday after Rivian reported stronger-than-expected deliveries for the second quarter.

Moreover, DA Davidson analysts upgraded the stock to Neutral, reflecting a series of positive headlines. They argue that the entry into Europe with van deliveries is “far earlier than we anticipated.”

“While 2Q deliveries were short of our model, they beat consensus expectations (a low bar, in our view). The recent ABRP acquisition adds new capabilities and valuable data as well,” the analysts said in the upgrade note.

Still, the analysts remain cautious on RIVN shares amid “new EV product introductions from legacy peers such as the Mercedes EQB and the forthcoming Escalade IQ.”

Moreover, Needham & Company analysts added Rivian to the firm’s Conviction List.

“RIVN is answering the three most common questions we get across our EV OEM coverage: (1) is there demand for its vehicles; (2) can the vehicles be manufactured at increasing scale; and (3) is there leverage on per-unit costs.”

Following Monday’s surge, Rivian shares are now up 6.1% year-to-date.