Rivian stock spikes following latest update
BNP Paribas has been one of the few Wall Street firms that is bearish on EV industry leader Tesla. Late last year, the firm initiated coverage with an underperform rating and a $280 price target.
BNPP cited unrealistic goals and a bloated valuation as the reasons for the bearish outlook on the industry-leading EV maker. It reiterated its view in April, saying nothing had materially changed about the EV space and Tesla's place in it.
On the other hand, BNPP has been bullish on Rivian, the startup Tesla rival that, at times, has looked on the verge of collapse.
Rivian's goals this year seem much more attainable, so analysts at BNP Paribas are more bullish on the struggling startup EV maker.
The firm had a $23 price target on its shares since April. While the firm lowered its price target to $22 per share, according to MarketBeat, it remains well above the average price target of $18.57.
On Thursday, Rivian shares jumped as much as 10%, but were trading 8% higher to $18.55 per share at last check.
Rivian increases 2026 sales guidance
On Thursday, July 2, Rivian filed an 8-k update with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It informed the feds and investors that the company produced and delivered so many vehicles in the second quarter that it is increasing its delivery outlook for the full year.
Rivian produced 12,613 vehicles in the preceding three months, while delivering 12,194 vehicles in that time. The delivery results easily topped the company's internal outlook of between 9,000 and 11,000.
As a result, Rivian is increasing its full-year delivery outlook to between 65,000 and 70,000 from its previous view of between 62,000 and 67,000 vehicles delivered.
The company also revealed that it will present its full quarterly results after the market close on July 30.
BNP Paribas sees big upside for Rivian stock
Elon Musk has promised investors that Tesla will more than triple its Robotaxi coverage and usher in the humanoid robot revolution by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Rivian's goals this year seem much more attainable, so analysts at BNP Paribas are more bullish on the struggling startup EV maker.
The firm says that although it expects better deliveries, "Rivian's 2026 will be defined by… the Co.'s ability to offer FSD-like ‘point-to-point' hands-free driving by year end."
In the meantime, it says the recent $1.25 billion expanded Robotaxi partnership with Uber is enough to push the firm's expectations for Rivian's stock to $4 per share.
During its Autonomy & AI Day in December, Rivian introduced the Gen 3 Autonomy Computer, its third-generation compute platform, which it says will have the "leading combination of vehicle sensors and inference available in North America."
The Gen 3 Autonomy Computer can process 5 billion pixels per second, thanks to the Rivian Autonomy Processor, its proprietary silicon chip that Rivian claims is among the first multi-chip modules used in high-compute automotive applications.
All Rivian vehicle deliveries now come with a 60-day trial of Autonomy+, its hands-free platform.
Rivian eyes in-house lidar production
Rivian may produce the lidar sensors that enable the self-driving tech it is developing in-house, CEO RJ Scaringe told Reuters recently.
Rivian said it plans to include lidar sensors on a version of its R2 vehicle coming later this year, but did not disclose which company would supply them.
The company is considering going in-house, possibly through a joint venture, as "all the real choices are coming out of China," according to Scaringe.
"Think of it as finding a way to structurally ingest the technology," Scaringe told Reuters. "The advancements in terms of going from the early lidars that I think a lot of us have seen - we see them here - to these much more advanced solid-state lidars, those advancements didn't happen in the United States. Those advancements happened in China."
Related: Rivian has bad news for hundreds of its workers
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This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 11:03 PM.