(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Thursday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A struggling electric vehicle maker and the parent company of two combat sport leagues were in focus among Thursday’s early analyst calls. Jefferies initiated Rivian with a buy rating, calling for more than 40% upside. Elsewhere, Goldman Sachs assigned a buy rating on TKO Group, noting shares can outperform going forward. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 5:35 a.m.: Jefferies initiates Rivian at a buy, cites competitive advantages Rivian has a leg up on its peers, according to Jefferies. The investment firm initiated coverage of the electric vehicle manufacturer at a buy rating. Although shares of Rivian have stumbled 53% this year, Jefferies’ $16 price target implies that the stock could rise 45% from here. “From the start, Rivian has been gifted more time and capital than most start-up peers to ‘do things right.’ In our view, management has indeed created a well-defined life-style brand with leading sustainability and environmental credentials as well as pioneered an EV last-mile delivery van platform,” wrote analyst Philippe Houchois. The analyst justified his price target by pointing to Rivian’s unique IP, brand equity, software stack and renovated production assets. These factors could attract public investors as well as potential outside corporate interest in the context of industry consolidation, Houchois wrote. However, he added that Rivian’s success will depend on two “critical if not existential” tests in 2024 — reducing unit variable production costs to viable levels, and demonstrating that the R2 platform can be developed at a much lower cost than the R1 model. RIVN YTD mountain RIVN year to date — Lisa Kailai Han 5:35 a.m.: Goldman says buy UFC and WWE parent TKO Group The future is looking bright for TKO Group , according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Stephen Laszczyk initiated coverage of the UFC and WWE parent company with a buy rating and a price target of $102. That forecast implies upside of more than 28%. Laszczyk cited three reasons for his bullish outlook on the stock: “The strong secular tailwinds in the sports media & live entertainment industries,” “Execution against robust revenue & expense synergy opportunities,” “The operating leverage that is built into TKO’s relatively fixed expense structure.” “We believe that TKO Group is well-positioned, through the recent combination of the UFC and WWE, to achieve high-single-digit annualized growth in Revenue and low-double-digit annualized growth in Adjusted EBITDA,” he added. Shares of TKO Group have lagged the broader marker year to date, losing 2.8%, while the S & P 500 is up 7%. Over the past six months, the stock has fallen 20%. TKO YTD bar TKO year to date — Fred Imbert
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