The 180-day “lockup” period, which prevented insiders and early investors from selling their Rivian shares, expired Monday. CNBC reported on Saturday that Ford, which owns a 11.4% stake in Rivian, plans to sell 8 million of its 102 million shares.
JPMorgan Chase plans to sell between 13 million to 15 million Rivian shares on behalf of an unidentified seller, according to CNBC. Amazon, which owns 162 million Rivian shares, is the company’s largest stakeholder.
“Rivian is an important partner for Amazon, and we are excited about the future,” said an Amazon spokesperson. “Putting 100,000 electric delivery vehicles on the road by 2030 is no small feat, and we remain committed to working with Rivian to make it a reality.”
Both Ford and Amazon recently reported multi-billion-dollar first-quarter losses because of the drop in value of Rivian’s stock. But both had reported even larger gains for 2021 when Rivian’s stock had soared. And both companies’ stakes in Rivian are still worth far more than their initial investments.
Rivian shares have lost 43% of their value since the end of the first quarter through Friday’s close, suggesting additional charges for Ford and Amazon could lie ahead. The company’s stock is down 84% from its post-IPO high through Friday’s close.
“The report of Ford selling 8 million shares is not what any Rivian investor wants to see,” said Dan Ives, tech analyst for Wedbush Securities. “The stock has been a debacle since the IPO. I think you’re seeing with lockup ending, investors are hitting the sell button in a jittery market.”
US stocks had a historically bad start to the year, especially tech stocks. Companies like Rivian whose share price gain had been driven by hopes for future earnings rather than current sales have been hit particularly hard. Rivian has only built 3,600 electric pickups since it started deliveries last fall. Investors also could be nervous about Rivian’s first quarter financial results, due out after the market close Wednesday. Shares fell 10% the day after it reported its first financial results following the IPO in December, and another 8% the day after its fourth quarter results in March.
Rivian had a very successful initial public offering in November, raising $12 billion, more than any other IPO since Facebook’s debut in 2012. Its stock continued to climb and within its first week it was the third most valuable automaker on the planet, trailing only Tesla and Toyota, despite the fact that at that point it had yet to report any sales.
