Velodyne Lidar: Painful Progress

 

• Velodyne Lidar reported a solid Q1 earnings report, but the company disappointed with the 2021 guidance.
• The company still expects sales to accelerate once Covid restrictions are lifted in areas like Europe and Asia.
• The stock is cheap with a $2 billion valuation and 29 multi-year agreements already in place.
• This idea was discussed in more depth with members of my private investing community, Out Fox The Street. Learn More »

The biggest issue when the lidar sensor companies came public via SPACs was whether the market could handle the unpredictable nature of the development phase in the space. Velodyne Lidar (VLDR) continues to add multi-year agreements and expand the pipeline, but the stock has fallen due to disappointing quarterly results. My investment thesis remains bullish on the stock and the sector.

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Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Update - July 19

The CEO steps down, but the investment thesis is still up in the air until the founder and a new CEO get on the same page. 

• -Velodyne Lidar (NASDAQ:VLDR) CEO Dr. Anand Gopalan, has informed that he is stepping down as CEO and a member of the Board, effective July 30, 2021.
• -In conjunction, the Board has created an Office of the Chief Executive (OCE), comprising several members of Velodyne’s senior leadership team.

The stock may have capitulated today. 

Update - June 4

not going to help the stock... Hall doesn't provide any details to back up his claims other than complaining about a stock falling which is inline with the sector.

-Velodyne Lidar's (VLDR +2.1%) founder David Hall has called for CEO Anand Gopalan and Chairman Brad Culkin to step down for not acting in the best interest of shareholders.

-Hall — who was ousted from his board chair role in February — has written to the board also calling for the resignation of board members, Michael Dee and Christopher Thomas, who were appointed by Graf Industrial Corp., SPAC that took the company public late last year.

Update - May 26

Promising signs for the lidar sector, but $VLDR still hasn't broken the downtrend with this rally. 

-Lidar sensor stocks are higher after EV maker Lucid Motors (LUCIDM) unveiled its new Lucid User Experience, which includes two primary touch-control displays, the Glass Cockpit and the Pilot Panel.
-One of the Glass Cockpit features is providing a 3D visual of objects and vehicles around the Lucid Air when the driver activates DreamDrive, Lucid's Level 2 advanced driver-assistance system. DreamDrive includes 32 on-board sensors including what Lucid bills as the "world's first high-resolution LIDAR in an EV."

Update May 24

Big news for the lidar sector...

-Shares of lidar sensor company Luminar (NASDAQ:LAZR) continue to rally today after an Inside EVs report late last week suggested that Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is testing the company's lidar on vehicles.

-Autonomous driving expert Grayson Brulte tweeted a picture of a Model Y on the road in Palm Beach, Florida, that had California manufacturer plates and what appears to be Luminar's lidar system.