Luminar Technologies (NASDAQ:LAZR) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold" Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Luminar from a "sell" to a "hold," but MarketBeat data shows the stock still carries a consensus "Strong Sell" rating with an average analyst target of $2.00 and recent sell/underweight calls from Weiss and JPMorgan.
• The shares are trading very low (opened at $0.86, one‑year range $0.81–$10.89) and the company remains unprofitable despite a quarterly beat (EPS of ‑$0.94 vs. ‑$1.08 expected and revenue $18.75M vs. $17.56M); sell‑side analysts still forecast a steep negative EPS for the fiscal year.
• Institutional investors have recently initiated or added positions (including Mitsubishi UFJ, Invesco, Nuveen and BNY Mellon), and institutions now own about 30.99% of the company.

Luminar Technologies (NASDAQ:LAZR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on LAZR. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Luminar Technologies in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Luminar Technologies in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and an average target price of $2.00.

Luminar Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Luminar Technologies stock opened at $0.86 on Monday. Luminar Technologies has a one year low of $0.81 and a one year high of $10.89. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $1.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.57 million, a P/E ratio of -0.17 and a beta of 2.03.

Luminar Technologies (NASDAQ:LAZR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.94) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.08) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $18.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.56 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Luminar Technologies will post -14.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Luminar Technologies

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Luminar Technologies in the second quarter worth about $1,424,000. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Luminar Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $881,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Luminar Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $293,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Luminar Technologies by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 68,271 shares of the company's stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 8,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Luminar Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Institutional investors own 30.99% of the company's stock.

Luminar Technologies Company Profile

Luminar Technologies, Inc, an automotive technology company, provides sensor technologies and software for passenger cars and commercial trucks in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. It operates in two segments, Autonomy Solutions and Advanced Technologies and Services. The Autonomy Solutions segment designs, manufactures, and sells laser imaging, detection, and ranging sensors or lidars, as well as related perception and autonomy software solutions primarily for original equipment manufacturers in the automobile, commercial vehicle, robo-taxi, and adjacent industries.

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