VLDR - Velodyne Lidar stock slips as BofA emerges bearish on non-auto contract wins

BofA initiates coverage of the U.S. lidar suppliers with Velodyne Lidar (VLDR) rated at Underperform and Luminar Technologies (LAZR) at Neutral.Aileen Smith says the firm's ratings are "based on the view that lidar is still in a nascent stage of innovation/adoption."The analyst says the lidar sensor companies are "uniquely levered to the industry mega-trend of vehicle autonomy, which should translate into outsized unit, revenue, and  earnings growth for these companies over our forecast period versus other automotive players. "But Smith notes that lidar will be one of several sensor solutions for ADAS/AV capabilities, the price/cost will need to come down to increase penetration, and competition in the lidar sensor space is "incredibly fierce."On the ratings front, BofA thinks that Velodyne is lagging Luminar in multi-year contracts for automotive/ADAS/AV series production. Velodyne's growing contracts are in areas outside of the auto space, which concerns the firm.Luminar is viewed as the "emerging leader

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Velodyne Lidar stock slips as BofA emerges bearish on non-auto contract wins