Rivian Stock – Prepare to Invest in the IPO

Learn how to invest in Rivian stock once the IPO arrives. Open an account with a commission-free online broker such as M1 Finance in anticipation of the public debut. 

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Latest Rivian Stock IPO News

04/08/2021: WSJ Video: Not a Tesla – The Startups Racing to Make Your Next Electric Car
04/06/2021: GM to build an electric Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck to Rival Rivian
03/29/2021: Tesla Can Move Forward With Trade-Secret Suit Against Rivian
03/21/2021: Rivian to install more than 10,000 EV chargers by end of 2023
03/18/2021: Amazon begins road testing Rivian electric delivery vans in SF
03/17/2021: From Amazon To FedEx, The Delivery Truck Is Going Electric
03/09/2021: Amazon-Backed Rivian Seeks 3-in-a-Row EV Debuts, Defying History
02/28/2021: Rivian Busy With Three Electric Vehicle Launches, Big Future Plans
02/17/2021: Amazon’s Rivian Prime Electric Delivery Van Deep Dive
02/09/2021: Amazon-Backed EV-Maker Rivian Aims for IPO This Year
02/03/2021: Amazon is testing Rivian electric delivery vans in Los Angeles
01/27/2021: Electric pickups coming fast and furious: Tesla, GM, Ford, Rivian promising EVs
01/26/2021: Biden plans to replace government fleet with electric vehicles
01/26/2021: A look at the soaring valuations of Rivian and Cruise
Older news…

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What is Rivian?

Rivian is an electric vehicle manufacturer focused on up-heaving the market for consumer pickup trucks, SUVs, and delivery vans.

The company rivals Tesla, Lucid Motors, and Nikola in the expanding electric vehicle market, which is set for explosive growth in the next decade.

It was founded by R.J. Scaringe, who earned a Ph.D. from MIT in mechanical engineering and was a member of the automotive laboratory. 

The company is based in Plymouth, MI. and has a manufacturing plant in Normal, Il., which it acquired from Mitsubishi Motors in January 2017. 

Is Rivian Publicly Traded?

No, the company is privately owned. The shareholders are made up of the founders, large corporations, early investors, and employees.

Rivian has raised nearly $6 billion in venture capital funding as of mid-2020. Prominent investors include BlackRock, Ford, T.Rowe Price, Fidelity, Cox Automotive, and Amazon.

On January 19th, 2021, Rivian closed a $2.65 billion new round of funding valuing the company at $27.6 billion, according to TechCrunch. 

On February 9th, 2021, Bloomberg reported that Rivian aims to IPO as early as September 2021 at a valuation of $50 billion or more.

You can find a complete list of Rivian investors at Crunchbase.

When is the Rivian IPO date?

The Rivian IPO date is currently unknown. It’s unlikely that Rivian will file for an IPO until it starts producing vehicles. Private funding has covered its employee, product development, and production costs so far. 

As long as private funding is available, a Rivian IPO may not be necessary. However, early investors will eventually want to cash out, and the best way to do that is an IPO. 

The market for public EV companies is exceptionally good in 2020 and 2021, which could move up the timeline for Rivian.

CEO and founder RJ Scaringe said in November 2020 (video below) the company is focused on the product and back-end operations for the next year, indicating there is no immediate focus on an IPO. 

However, according to a report by Bloomberg, Rivian is aiming to IPO as early as September, 2021. Though sources admitted the timeline could slip to later in the year or 2022.

We won’t know the date until one of two things happens:

• The Rivian IPO date range leaks to the financial press
• The SEC releases a publicly-available Rivian S-1 filing

Even when the company and SEC publicly release the S-1 filing, we still won’t know a firm date. However, the IPO date typically occurs a month or two after the S-1 releases to the public.

Because Rivian is a so-called unicorn, you can be sure that the Rivian IPO date announcement will be loudly publicized.

Especially after the rise in Tesla stock and the initial positive reception of rival electric truck company, Nikola. 

What is the Rivian Stock Price?

Since Rivian is not publicly traded on a stock exchange, there is no Rivian stock price yet.

What is the Rivian Stock Symbol, Rivian Ticker?

Rivian has not yet submitted public filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Therefore, it is not yet known what the Rivian stock symbol will be. We can only speculate about the Rivian ticker.

Here are three suggestions, all of which are available in the U.S.:

• RIVN
• RV
• RVN

Interview with Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe

Bloomberg Technology posted this 21-minute interview with Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe on November 23rd, 2020.

He talks about orders, production, constraints, and service network development.

Regarding a potential Rivian IPO, the interviewer asks a question at 15:51 in the video, have you any thoughts about taking the company public? 

Scaringe answers that they’ve raised $6 billion in capital from strategic partners and financial institutions.

The funding thus far allows them to be “heads down” and “focused” on launching and building the vehicles, but also building out the complexity of setting up all the back-end operations such as service, retail, and charging, across markets. 

Funding should enable the company to focus on delivering over the next year, and investors are 100% supportive of that. 

What if There’s a Rivian SPAC?

A SPAC is a special purpose acquisition company, also known as a blank check company. They are shell companies designed to help established businesses go public without a traditional IPO. 

The SPAC company merges with the established company and takes on the established company’s name. It’s also known as a reverse merger. 

SPACs have become popular recently after Virgin Galactic, Lordstown Motors, and Nikola used them to become publicly traded companies. 

Using a SPAC to go public allows the company to skip the complicated and expensive IPO process. SPAC founders call companies like Rivian to convince them it would be a smart move. 

However, as we’ve seen with Nikola, not all companies are ready to be public, especially when there is no revenue. 

If Rivian continues to be well managed, I expect the company will avoid the SPAC route in the near-term because it is fully capable of raising capital as a private company. 

When early investors and employees need liquidity, and the company generates more significant revenue, the company will decide on the best way to go public — a traditional IPO, direct IPO, or SPAC merger. 

At this stage, it appears more like the company will have a traditional IPO. 

Will Rivian Stock be a Motley Fool Stock Advisor Recommendation?

We won’t know until after the IPO if Rivian will be a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation. However, Rivian stock fits the mold of high-growth, disruptive business models that the Fool typically recommends. 

Considering the Fool’s early Tesla buy recommendation, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rivian stock becomes a top pick after the IPO.

When the Motley Fool recommends a company, there is usually an immediate spike in the price. Fool newsletter subscribers are notoriously long-term minded and rarely sell, meaning the stock price will continue to rise.

Rivian may also receive a recommendation by the Motley Fool Rule Breakers newsletter, its high-growth stock recommendation service. Both services have handily beaten the broader market since the early 2000s. 

Read this Motley Fool Stock Advisor review to learn about their stock selection methodologies and about how you can participate in excellent returns.

Stock Advisor is currently half-off at just $99 for an annual subscription if you use the button below. There’s a 30-day full refund period (no questions asked) if you don’t like it.

Learn More about Stock Advisor

Can you Buy Rivian Stock? Three Potential Ways

It is challenging to acquire shares of a stock that is not yet trading on the public markets. It is possible, but you may not be eligible, and it may not be worth the hassle. 

For example, if you look at Uber stock, individual investors salivated for years, waiting for it to trade publicly. When it finally went public, the stock price fell. So you were better off waiting to buy the stock instead of buying it before the IPO. 

There are three ways you may be able to acquire shares of a pre-IPO stock such as Rivian.

• Buy Rivian stock after it begins trading
• Buy Rivian stock during the Initial Public Offering (IPO)
• Buy Rivian stock in Pre-IPO secondary marketplaces

1. Buy Rivian Stock After the Rivian IPO

Since acquiring IPO shares is almost always challenging for individual investors, the only surefire way to own Rivian stock is to wait for the IPO to complete. 

In many cases, patient investors can get in at a price at or below the IPO price. This is not always true.

The Beyond Meat IPO, for example, soared and never looked back. But Uber, which many predicted to rise steeply, actually fell on the IPO date.

The moral here is that spending significant effort to own a company before the IPO may not be worth it in the end. You may also spend time and effort to obtain shares, but only receive a small allocation. Even if the stock soars, your upside gain may be limited.

Though IPOs can provide one-day gains north of 20%, even up to 100% in rare cases (such as Airbnb and Doordash), the most significant gains will come during the decade following the IPO if the company is genuinely disruptive.

Take, for example, Netflix, Amazon, or Tesla. You could have bought the stock years after the IPO and still experienced gains of more than 1,000%

Your best chance to own the stock is by waiting for the IPO and making a purchase of Rivian stock through a no-fee online brokerage account.

So what is the best online brokerage for buying Rivian stock?

As an individual investor, you’ll want to open an account with a commission-free online broker. That way, you’ll invest most of your money instead of waste it on fees.

What is the Best Online Broker to Buy Rivian Stock after the IPO?

For investors looking to participate in IPOs, TradeStation and Webull offer IPO investing to customers (more below). However, you’re never guaranteed a share allocation and most high-demand IPO will not be available. 

Long-term investors may prefer an online broker that’s better for dollar cost averaging and dividend reinvestment. 

I’m a big fan of the online brokerage M1 Finance. M1 Finance is a reliable and robust, no-fee online broker for beginner to intermediate investors. It’s easy to get started.

As your investing skills and portfolio mature, M1 is one of the best platforms to scale.

Investing in stocks is 100% free on the platform. They also offer an integrated checking account and low borrowing rates. Read my complete M1 Finance review here. 

M1 Finance does not offer IPO access. But it’s my favorite for every day investing. 

The platform is more intuitive than old school brokers because it’s built on a modern technology platform. You create portfolio “pies” that contains all the stocks and ETFs you want to own and in what percentages. Simply add Rivian stock to your portfolio pie. 

Learn More about M1 Finance

2. Buy Stock in the Rivian Initial Public Offering (IPO)

Ambitious investors may attempt to position themselves to invest in the Rivian IPO once it arrives. Most retail investors will not get access.

The wealthiest clients at the top investment banks will get IPO shares in the hottest deals.

Your chances of getting IPO shares depends on four factors:

• IPO demand
• Your broker and eligibility
• Your assets under management at the broker
• Propensity to flip shares

As IPO demand increases, the chances of receiving IPO shares decreases. Therefore, the IPOs that are most interesting to the masses are the hardest to access. 

Lower-demand IPOs may be available to retail investors who are customers at participating brokers. 

What are the Best Online Brokers for IPO Investing?

For an extensive list of IPO-friendly online brokers and their eligibility, check out this page.

Wealthy customers ($1 million+ accounts) at Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, and Schwab may have a shot at some IPOs, depending on demand. 

TradeStation and Webull are the best options for investors with less than $250,000. Both give limited access to lower-demand IPOs and secondary offerings through a partnership with ClickIPO, an IPO investing app.

Joining a broker that offers access to IPOs does not guarantee a share allocation, especially in high-demand IPOs. You are probably better off waiting for the company to start trading after the IPO. 

Click here to download the free 15-page eBook, How to Invest in IPOs – A Fundamental Guide for Ordinary Investors.

3. Buy Rivian Stock in Pre-IPO Secondary Marketplaces

Founders, early employees, and investors often find themselves in a difficult predicament. They own valuable shares of a company that doesn’t trade publicly. 

These shareholders might have multi-million dollar net worth’s because of their stock holdings, but the stock is not liquid because it doesn’t trade on an exchange. 

Two platforms have evolved to gives these individuals a way to liquidate their holding before the IPO. The two sites are EquityZen and Sharespost.

Both sites bring liquidity to an otherwise illiquid asset. Accredited investors may join these sites and attempt to buy shares of these companies when they become available. 

The shares are only offered to accredited investors because the company’s financials are not publicly filed with regulators yet, increasing the risk to investors. 

For High-profile companies, demand is high, lowering your chances of acquiring shares, if you’re accredited. 

Bonus!

One last possibility is a directed share program. Sometimes when companies file their S-1 SEC filing (to begin the IPO process), they include a directed share program for executives, affiliates, and other people who helped the company grow.

Because of that, it’s possible it would offer IPO shares to early Rivian car buyers. This isn’t a reason to buy their vehicles, but it would be interesting if it happened. 

We’ve seen this happen before. In particular, Uber offered shares to drivers that completed a certain number of trips. GoPro offered shares to their email subscriber list. 

Conclusion

For ordinary investors, it will be difficult to acquire pre-IPO Rivian shares. If you’re determined, follow the pre-IPO marketplaces and pay attention to any offerings. You must be accredited to invest this way. 

Otherwise, you’ll need to wait for the IPO date to buy shares. 

But that’s not necessarily a reason to be disappointed. Google’s shares rose 18% on the day of its IPO. Many people probably sold that day. Had they held for the next decade, their holdings would have been up 1,000%.

When the Rivian IPO is near, please perform due diligence on the SEC S-1 filing and don’t buy Rivian stock with money you can’t afford to lose. 

Check out this list of the hottest upcoming IPOs for more investment ideas.

Rivian Stock News Archive

01/24/2021: Electric Pickups Coming Soon Will Find Lots of Interested Customers
01/19/2021: Rivian raises $2.65 billion as it pushes towards production of its electric pickup
01/19/2021: NY Times: Rivian Has Been a Tortoise to Tesla’s Hare. Can It Catch Up?
01/19/2021: Rivian announces $2.65 billion investment round
01/08/2021: Rivian is building its own EV charging network, but with an adventurous twist
01/05/2021: Rivian Is Close to Raising Funds at $25 Billion Valuation
11/23/2020: Rivian Featured on CNBC’s Fast Money (video) with Phil LeBeau
11/23/2020: Bloomberg Technology interviews CEO RJ Scaringe (see video above)
11/22/2020: Rivian sells out first version of its electric pickup truck
11/17/2020: Tesla, Lucid, Rivian, and others join to create ZETA: a push for electric cars by 2030
11/17/2020: What Donald Trump Taught the Electric-Car Industry
11/16/2020: How We’d Spec It: Car and Driver Editors Build Their 2021 Rivian Electric Trucks and SUV
11/11/2020: Time to Build: Rivian to Launch Configurator Website 11/16, Pricing, Packages
10/08/2020: Amazon debuts electric delivery vans created with Rivian
10/06/2020: The Rivian R1T electric pickup is running in the Rebelle Rally
09/27/2020: This Is How Rivian Prepped the Electric R1T for Ewan McGregor’s Long Way Up
/08/08/2020: Rivian R1T Electric Pickups Take 13,000-Mile Road Trip for TV
08/03/2020: Electric truck maker Lordstown Motors is going public (IPO using a special purpose acquisition company, SPAC)
07/27/2020: Rivian’s Electric Truck and SUV Arrive Next Summer
07/23/2020: Tesla sues Rivian for allegedly stealing secrets, poaching employees
07/10/2020: Rivian announces $2.5 billion investment round led by T. Rowe Price
07/10/2020: Rivian raises $2.5 billion in aggressive plan to beat Tesla and Nikola with the first all-electric pickup
07/02/2020: Nikola Fails to Reveal the Actual Reservations for Its Badger Electric Pickup Truck – the Stock Is Tanking
06/03/2020: Rivian trademarks two new vehicles: What could they be?
05/28/2020: Rivian’s Amazon electric delivery van still on track as factory reopens
02/10/2020: Elon Musk’s New Nemesis: Rivian Founder R.J. Scaringe Has A $3 Billion War Chest And Tesla In His Headlights

* Disclosure: This web page contains affiliate links from our partners. If a reader opens an account or buys a service from a link in this article, we may be compensated at no additional cost to the reader. Opening an account with a broker that provides access to IPOs does not guarantee the customer allocations of specific IPOs.