Tesla challenger Rivian's market value almost doubled in 2 weeks as its stock price hit a 2023 high

• Rivian's stock has been on fire lately, hitting the highest levels in 2023 this week.
• The EV maker's market capitalization almost doubled in two weeks to reach $23.2 billion on Monday.
• Wedbush Securities has upgraded Rivian's price forecast from $25 to $30 as a show of confidence in the firm.

Rivian Automotive is enjoying quite the comeback in the stock market.

As recently as in April, the electric-vehicle manufacturer's shares had hit a record low of $11.68 apiece, marking a 90% crash from 2021 peaks, as the company struggled with production and supply-chain hurdles.

But on Monday, the shares hit a 2023 high of $26.61, with the price surging almost 100% from two weeks earlier. In other terms, Rivian's market capitalization almost doubled in the two weeks through Monday to $23.2 billion.

Investor sentiment on the company has turned bullish after it reported second-quarter EV sales that exceeded Wall Street estimates. Rivian delivered 12,640 vehicles for the period - topping analysts' estimate for 11,000 - and that puts the firm back on track to achieve its overall 2023 production target of 50,000 vehicles, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.

This news may turn the tide for Rivian after a torrid first half of 2023 plagued by production delays and supply-chain issues.

"Given that the supply chain confidence is there, and given that our operational experience is so much stronger, we're able to have a level of predictability to the business that, in the first 12 months, we really didn't have," Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe told Bloomberg TV last week.

The carmaker has further reason to feel optimistic after announcing its first van deliveries to its largest shareholder, Amazon, ahead of schedule. The e-commerce giant expects Rivian to provide 100,000 delivery vans by 2030.

In November 2021, Rivian went public to much fanfare - its $12 billion share offering was one of the largest automotive IPOs in history. But since then, it has struggled to reach anywhere near its float price of $78 per share, after growth stocks suffered a broad sell-off last year.