AEye (NASDAQ:LIDR) Trading 14.7% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of AEye, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIDR) shot up 14.7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $2.11 and last traded at $2.11. 1,149,925 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 1,288,171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIDR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AEye in a report on Monday. Alliance Global Partners assumed coverage on shares of AEye in a report on Monday, September 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AEye from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.00.

AEye Stock Up 14.7%

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.34. The firm has a market cap of $95.08 million, a PE ratio of -0.97 and a beta of 2.97.

AEye (NASDAQ:LIDR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $0.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.04 million. AEye had a negative return on equity of 102.95% and a negative net margin of 19,320.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AEye news, Director Luis Dussan sold 32,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.40, for a total value of $76,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 134,132 shares in the company, valued at $321,916.80. The trade was a 19.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AEye

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in AEye in the third quarter worth $33,000. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. bought a new position in shares of AEye during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in AEye in the 3rd quarter worth about $95,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AEye by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 108,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 6,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in AEye by 657.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 307,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $766,000 after acquiring an additional 267,075 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 21.58% of the company’s stock.

About AEye

AEye, Inc is a technology company specializing in adaptive LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) systems designed to support advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous vehicles and other sensing applications. Through its intelligent detection and ranging (iDAR) platform, AEye integrates high-performance sensors with real-time data processing software to deliver customizable sensing ‘pipelines’ that prioritize relevant objects and environmental features. This approach enables longer detection ranges, higher resolution imagery and dynamic field-of-view adjustment, making AEye’s offerings well suited for complex driving environments and safety-critical scenarios.

The company’s core product suite centers on solid-state and hybrid LiDAR sensors that can be configured for a variety of end uses, including passenger vehicles, commercial trucks, robotics, mapping and defense.