What happened
Driving in reverse after the company reported disappointing first-quarter 2023 financial results on May 9, Luminar Technologies (LAZR 0.69%) took a U-turn and has been driving higher over the past few days. What's fueling the buying activity? Simple -- a major insider acquisition of the company's stock has investors eager to park the lidar specialist in their portfolios.
As of 3:11 p.m. ET, shares of Luminar have climbed 12.1% since the end of last Friday's trading session, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
So what
On Tuesday, investors learned that Austin Russell, Luminar's CEO, made a sizable purchase of the company's stock. Russell bought 1.3 million shares in a transaction valued at roughly $7.6 million. But Russell wasn't done. Following the initial purchase, Russell proceeded to buy another $13.7 million in stock.
Reporting Q1 2023 revenue of $14.5 million, Luminar beat analysts' expectation of $11.9 million; however, the company failed to meet estimates on the bottom of the income statement. Whereas analysts expected the company to report negative earnings per share of $0.21, Luminar booked a loss per share of $0.40.
Now what
While Luminar failed to meet analysts' earnings-per-share expectations last quarter, investors are clearly placing greater emphasis on management's auspicious outlook. When a CEO -- or another company insider for that matter -- buys nearly $14 million in company stock, investors sit up and take note. Granted, it's not a guarantee that the company's road ahead won't be bumpy, but it's certainly an encouraging sign for the provider of sensors for the automotive industry.
