After Fiscal Wins Across the Board, It’s Time to Buy Luminar

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Given the rapid emergence of autonomous vehicle tech, one of the most future-facing businesses to invest in is lidar company Luminar (NASDAQ:LAZR). Yet, LAZR stock has relentlessly drifted lower in 2021 so far.

Luminar (LAZR stock) sign with greenery around it

Source: JHVEPhoto/shutterstock.com

What’s actually going on here? Is Luminar actually disappointing its stakeholders with a poor fiscal performance? Or has LAZR stock only reached a compelling value after being irrationally beaten down?

The answer, as usual, lies within the company’s fiscal data. After all, opinions vary, but the numbers don’t lie. At the end of the day, I fully expect to uncover statistics that weigh heavily in favor of a long position in Luminar.

A Closer Look at LAZR Stock

The most enjoyable time for LAZR stock investors, no doubt, was back in late 2020. That’s when the stock shot up to fresh highs, reaching a 52-week high of $47.80 on Dec. 8.

It was all downhill from there, unfortunately. The bulls suffered one setback after another as the Luminar share price slid to about $25 in March 2021, $20 in July and $17 in early September.

Again, I’d like to emphasize that even as LAZR stock declined sharply, Luminar continued to develop its lidar technology and generate revenues in the millions of dollars.

But while share-price beat-downs can be shocking and frightening, sometimes they’re really gifts from the market. Could this be the case with LAZR stock? Let’s delve into the company’s fundamentals and see what we come up with.

Luminar Just Had Its Most Incredible Quarter Yet

First, we should explain a couple of Luminar’s product offerings.

One of them is Iris, which Luke Lango and the InvestorPlace research staff concisely describe as the company’s “low-cost package meant for integration into the roofs of vehicles.”

Other products include Sentinel, the company’s full-stack autonomous solution, as well as Luminar’s powerful Hydra lidar technology.

So, has the company been successful in commercializing its products? Judging by its second quarter 2021 results and business update, the answer is definitely yes.

Founder and CEO Austin Russell called Q2 2021 Luminar’s “most incredible quarter yet.” That’s a strong assertion, but it’s backed up by the data.

For one thing, Luminar secured more than 85% of Iris’s series production supply chain and tooling. With that, the company is preparing to enter the C-phase for the product in the fourth quarter.

At the same time, Luminar raised its 2021 forward-looking order-book growth target to 60% over 2020. That’s a significant hike compared to the previous target of 40% growth.

LAZR Stock: Show Me the Money

We’re off to a good start, but let’s face it: the investors want to see some dollar signs. No problem — we’ll show you the money, starting with the top-line results.

For 2021’s second quarter, Luminar generated $6.3 million in revenue. That’s an 84% year-over-year increase, and also represents a 19% sequential improvement.

In light of those figures, it shouldn’t be too surprising that Luminar raised its full-year 2021 revenue guidance to a range of $30 million to $33 million. As a basis of comparison, the company’s prior guidance had called for $25 million to $30 million.

Of course, Luminar will need capital in order to continue advancing Iris and the company’s other lidar products. No worries there — as of June 30, Luminar had $580.4 million worth of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.

Moreover, as Luke Lango and the InvestorPlace research staff reported, Luminar is set to maintain a cash position by the end of 2021 that is equal to or higher than that of last year.

The Bottom Line on LAZR Stock

So, did Luminar actually just have its “most incredible quarter yet”? The data seems to indicate that Q2 2021 was, indeed, replete with positive developments for Luminar.

Yet the LAZR stock price remains depressed. That’s perfectly fine, as it’s a prime opportunity to capitalize on the exciting lidar market today. Interested investors should consider the dip in price a buying opportunity.

On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

David Moadel has provided compelling content – and crossed the occasional line – on behalf of Crush the Street, Market Realist, TalkMarkets, Finom Group, Benzinga, and (of course) InvestorPlace.com. He also serves as the chief analyst and market researcher for Portfolio Wealth Global and hosts the popular financial YouTube channel Looking at the Markets.

David Moadel has provided compelling content – and crossed the occasional line – on behalf of Motley Fool, Crush the Street, Market Realist, TalkMarkets, TipRanks, Benzinga, and (of course) InvestorPlace.com. He also serves as the chief analyst and market researcher for Portfolio Wealth Global and hosts the popular financial YouTube channel Looking at the Markets.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2021/09/after-across-the-board-fiscal-wins-its-time-to-buy-lazr-stock/.

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