Renaissance Technologies, a New York-based hedge fund, has become of the largest institutional investors in Rivian during the fourth quarter, holding nearly 16.4 million shares by the end of 2025.
The firm purchased 4 million shares in the EV maker between October and December, a 32.4% increase.
It reached its largest-ever stake after first opening a position in Rivian in mid-2022, less than a year after the company went public.
Since then, Renaissance Technologies has exited and reentered Rivian stock twice.
The first exit came in late 2022, just two quarters after its initial investment, when it had purchased 1.9 million shares.
The second occurred in the first quarter of 2025, when the firm sold 3.4 million shares.
It returned to the stock in the following quarter, buying nearly 2 million shares.
In the July–September period, the New York firm increased its stake in Rivian by 522% to nearly 12.4 million shares — its largest position at that point — before adding another 4 million shares in the following three months.
Renaissance Technologies also holds a stake in Tesla, in which it has tripled its position in the final quarter of 2025 to around 1.3 million shares — valued at $612 million.
It acquired 1 million shares in Chinese EV maker Nio between October and December, totaling nearly 8.5 million as the year came to a close. The position was worth $46 million.
Stock Performance
As the year ended, Renaissance Technologies’ stake in Rivian was worth $323.2 million, Fintel shows.
Since then, according to Nasdaq, its value has declined to about $229.5 million.
The company’s stock plunged from its 2025 high of $22.69 on December 22, trading as low as $13.58 last Thursday, following eleven consecutive trading sessions of losses, the longest streak since late 2022.
The stock ultimately recovered to over $17 this Friday, as the company reported stronger-than-expected financial results in the fourth quarter.
As of press time, the company was trading 23% higher at $17.30 on Friday’s market session.
Institutional Ownership
Data from Nasdaq shows that 876 institutions collectively hold 702 million shares in Rivian as of Friday.
The EV maker is primarily backed by Amazon, which has held 158 million shares in the EV maker since 2019.
Volkswagen also invested in Rivian last year, as part of the two companies’ partnership on software development.
As of June 30, Volkswagen reported holding 146 million shares in the EV maker.
The company is nearing the release of the next $1 billion equity tranche from VW, which could make it the automaker’s largest institutional investor.
Vanguard and BlackRock are the biggest institutional investors in Rivian after Amazon and VW.
Vanguard has slightly trimmed its position in the EV maker during the final quarter of 2025, holding 81.4 million shares.
BlackRock disclosed that it has sold around 800,000 shares, a 1.5% decrease in the stake, totaling 50.4 million shares by December 31.
JP Morgan has increased its stake in Rivian for the fifth consecutive quarter, holding a record 22 million shares in the EV maker by the end of 2025.
UBS Group disclosed in its quarterly portfolio update last week that it slashed its Rivian holdings by 28.6% to 13.9 million shares in the final quarter of 2025, potentially dropping below its top 10 largest institutions.
