Today, investors in a whole range of high-growth stocks are seeing a tremendous amount of red. However, in the electric vehicle (EV) sector, one of the biggest losers today is Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN). Currently, RIVN stock is down more than 10%, as investors price in a number of bearish factors into this stock today.
Broadly speaking, most high-growth tech stocks have hit significant turbulence today. Reports that minutes from the recent Fed meeting suggest the concerns many investors have around inflation are warranted have sparked a selloff for many risk assets. Bond yields continue higher along the long end of the spectrum, a factor driving valuations lower. For EV makers like Rivian that are only starting to see revenue come in, this isn’t a good situation.
However, there’s a company-specific factor that’s also driving underperformance in this stock today. Let’s dive into what investors are watching with RIVN stock right now.
Amazon Partnership With Another EV Company Sinking RIVN Stock
Today, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) made a rather shocking announcement. For Rivian shareholders, this announcement appeared to come out of left field.
Amazon announced a battery-electric van partnership with automaker Stellantis (NYSE:STLA). This partnership will enable Stellantis to use Amazon’s technology to scale its growth in this new market. A specific order size was not announced. However, this partnership deal poured cold water on the Amazon-Rivian order. Investors likely hoped for Rivian to dominate the electric van market via Amazon’s investment in this upstart EV maker.
Both Amazon and Rivian commented that this partnership deal is good for the sector. Amazon’s needs are likely to exceed the 100,000 unit order with Rivian, which remains intact. However, investors appear to have viewed this deal as one that erodes Rivian’s future stranglehold on the electric van market in the future.
Given today’s price action, the market appears to be taking a very negative view of this news. Whether today’s move proves to be a buying opportunity or not remains to be seen. However, for now, momentum is certainly not moving RIVN stock in a positive direction today.
On the date of publication, Chris MacDonald did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
