Automotive lidar (light detection and ranging) is a fascinating niche market. Among the handful of manufacturers in this segment, Microvision (NASDAQ:MVIS) is one of the most ambitious and traders can take a position in the company with MVIS stock.
I’m going to cut to the chase and say outright that MVIS stock is a very fast mover. Due to the volatility factor, it’s not a stock that you’ll want to pour your entire life savings into.
Plus, you could get punished in the short term if you start accumulating MVIS stock at the wrong time. We’ll discuss the stock’s price action and possible entry points in a moment.
Most importantly, you’ll want to have a bullish stance on the lidar market, and Microvision in particular, if you’re going to hold the shares for the long term.
MVIS Stock at a Glance
Want to talk about a stock with multi-bagger potential? Then check out MVIS stock, which was trading at 22 cents a year ago, and was above $20 in the not-too-distant past.
The share price landed above $5 at the end of 2020, but there were much bigger gains to come. Indeed, there was a massive spike in February, with the stock hitting a 52-week high of $24.18 on Feb. 16.
The MVIS stock price pulled back towards the $11 area twice after that: once in early March, and then again in late March.
Therefore, patient investors might choose to wait for the stock to get close to $11 before taking a long position.
Another strategy would be to start accumulating immediately, but only with very small position sizes and a plan to add more if the stock falls to $13, $11 and $9.50.
And again, don’t over-leverage yourself. MVIS stock has a five-year monthly beta of 3.75, meaning that it tends to make outsized moves compared to the stock market overall.
Tracking the Lidar Market
To put it simply, lidar systems use laser beams to form a three-dimensional image of the surveyed surroundings. With that, the lidar system makes a real-time map of the environment.
On-board computers can use lidar technology to help navigate self-driving vehicles, a market with growth potential.
According to Grand View Research, the global autonomous vehicle market is forecast to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 63.1% from 2021 to 2030.
You’ve got to admit, that’s a growth rate which few other industries can match, or even come close to.
And many autonomous vehicles will use lidar technology for motion planning, situational analysis, trajectory control and other crucial aspects of the navigation process.
Microvision started its internal lidar research and development engineering process back in 2011. By 2019, the company was shipping development kits for Microvision’s consumer lidar design to customers.
Advancing New Products
In other words, Microvision got into the lidar game early, and aggressively. And today, the company is preparing to advance a number of cutting-edge lidar products.
As Microvision CEO Sumit Sharma explains, the market probably won’t have to wait long for a new product introduction: “I expect that the A-Sample hardware and benchmarked data, for demonstration to interested parties, will be available in the April 2021 timeframe.”
Sharms furthermore expects that a version of Microvision’s first-generation Long Range Lidar sensor, “after internal validation, reliability and compliance testing, could be available for sale, in small quantities, in the third or fourth quarter of 2021.”
Thus, it looks like 2021 could be an exciting year for lidar enthusiasts — and for MVIS stockholders.
Also encouraging is Microvision’s recent balance sheet improvement. In particular, the company had cash and cash equivalents of roughly $16,862,000 as of Dec. 31, 2020.
That’s a sizable increase over the approximately $5,837,000 held as of Dec. 31, 2019.
The Takeaway
Clearly, the lidar technology industry is poised for significant growth. Moreover, Microvision was an early mover in this market.
MVIS stock traders should acknowledge that the price tends to move quickly. Timing your entry point will be crucial to maximizing your gains with this stock.
Yet, it’s great to know that you’d be positioning yourself with a powerful competitor in the emerging lidar market.
On the date of publication, neither Louis Navellier nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Louis Navellier, who has been called “one of the most important money managers of our time,” has broken the silence in this shocking “tell all” video… exposing one of the most shocking events in our country’s history… and the one move every American needs to make today.
