Rivian (RIVN) Stock Gets TD Cowen Buy Upgrade Ahead of R2 Launch

TLDR

• TD Cowen upgraded Rivian (RIVN) to Buy with a $20 price target, up from $17
• The upgrade comes two days before Rivian’s R2 SUV reveal at SXSW 2026 on March 12
• TD Cowen sees full-scale R2 demand at 212,000–335,000 units annually
• RIVN is down roughly 20% year-to-date, trading around $15.87
• Analysts project revenue could more than triple from $5.4B in 2025 to $16.3B by 2028

Rivian (RIVN) stock is getting fresh attention from Wall Street ahead of a major product reveal, with TD Cowen bumping its rating to Buy just 48 hours before the curtain lifts on the R2 SUV.

Rivian Automotive, Inc., RIVN

Analyst Itay Michaeli raised his price target to $20 — his second upgrade in under a month. He first lifted it from $13 to $17 on February 14, then added another $3 on Tuesday. Based on Monday’s closing price of $15.87, that implies roughly 26% upside.

The timing matters. Rivian will officially reveal the R2 SUV on March 12 at the SXSW 2026 Festival in Austin, Texas. The event has been circled on investors’ calendars for months.

RIVN is down around 20% year-to-date. The stock sank to a 2025 low of $12.50 in April, weighed down by tariff uncertainty, before climbing to a yearly high of $22.45 in late December. It has traded in the $15 range for most of the past month.

TD Cowen’s demand model sees full-scale R2 sales coming in at 212,000 to 335,000 units per year — well above current consensus forecasts for 2027. The firm said the risk/reward setup heading into the reveal looks attractive at current levels.

Why the R2 Is a Big Deal

The R2 is priced at roughly $45,000, around $30,000–$40,000 less than the existing R1T and R1S. Rivian says it will also be cheaper to build, thanks to fewer electronic control units, simpler wiring, and larger castings.

That combination — lower price, lower cost to produce — is what has analysts paying attention. Rivian has seen production drop from 57,232 vehicles in 2023 to 42,284 in 2025, a slide it attributes to supply chain issues, lower EV subsidies, and competition.

The R2 is designed to reach a much wider buyer pool. Rivian plans to use its upcoming Georgia facility alongside its Illinois plant to scale output, targeting a tripling of total production capacity by 2028.

The company’s revenue is currently sitting at $5.4 billion for 2025. Analysts expect that number to hit $16.3 billion by 2028 if the R2 ramp goes to plan. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to turn positive by that same year.

Where the Stock Stands

At around $15, RIVN trades more than 80% below its 2021 IPO price and at less than three times projected 2025 sales. The stock climbed to $17 in mid-February following better-than-expected Q4 results and early media reviews of the R2.

Rivian also has a longer-term pipeline in play. The higher-end R3 SUV is expected to arrive in late 2026 or early 2027, with the R2 intended to build brand awareness and manufacturing scale ahead of that launch.

TD Cowen had previously held a cautious stance, trimming its target to $13 in August 2025 and flagging Rivian’s AI Day and R2 launch as the two key upcoming catalysts worth watching.

The R2 reveal is now less than 48 hours away.

The post Rivian (RIVN) Stock Gets TD Cowen Buy Upgrade Ahead of R2 Launch appeared first on CoinCentral.