Rivian stock drops another 14% after report of Ford selling shares

Shares of Rivian Automotive Inc opened at a record low on Monday, down 14%, after a report that early investor Ford would be selling a part of its stake in the electric-car maker.

Rivian’s shares were trading at $24.77, a far cry from their record of $179.50 in November last year.

Ford is selling 8 million of its Rivian shares as the stock’s lockup period expired on Sunday, CNBC reported over the weekend, citing sources. Ford was Rivian’s fourth largest shareholder with a 11.4% stake, according to Refinitiv data.

Rivian is struggling with a supply chain crisis that has limited its production just as it was starting to get underway at its factory in Normal, Illinois. The company earlier cut its planned 2022 production in half to 25,000 vehicles due to supply chain issues.

The Irvine, California-based company has lost roughly three-quarters of its value this year, while delivering only 1,227 cars in the first quarter.

Amazon.com Inc, Rivian’s second-biggest shareholder with a 17.7% stake, recorded a 59% fall in operating income in its first quarter, largely hurt by its investments in the carmaker. Amazon is also one of Rivian’s key customers and is expecting to receive 100,000 delivery vans by 2024.

JPMorgan Chase also plans to sell a Rivian share block of between 13 million and 15 million from an unknown seller, CNBC reported, priced at $26.90 a share, similar to Ford’s.

The companies were not immediately available for a comment.

Shares of other new electric-car makers have also declined as investors worry whether these start-ups can manufacture enough electric vehicles to meet soaring demand amid supply chain issues and rising material costs.

Lordstown Motors Corp’s shares fell 13% after the company said it needed more funds to put its Endurance pickup truck on the road.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)