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MicroVision skyrockets 50% after announcing progress on Lidar tech for self-driving cars

Will Daniel   

MicroVision skyrockets 50% after announcing progress on Lidar tech for self-driving cars
  • MicroVision announced progress on its Long-Range Lidar (LRL) Sensor on Thursday causing share prices to soar.
  • The company says it will meet its April milestone of completing A-Samples of the LRL Sensor.
  • Sumit Sharma MicroVision's CEO says the company expects its censors to meet or exceed OEM requirements.
  • MicroVision's stock has appreciated 1225% in the past six months causing short-sellers to take note.

MicroVision stock skyrocketed as much as 50% on Thursday after the company announced it has made significant progress on its patented Lidar technology for autonomous vehicles.

MicroVision said it received the necessary components and equipment to meet its April milestone of completing A-Samples of its Long-Range Lidar (LRL) Sensor and it started outdoor testing of key performance features on its development platform.

"We expect MicroVision's Long-Range Lidar Sensor, (LRL Sensor) which has been in development for over two years, to meet or exceed requirements established by OEMs for autonomous safety and autonomous driving features," said Sumit Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of MicroVision.

MicroVision's CEO also said he expects his company's first generation Lidar sensor to have a range of 250 meters and "the highest resolution at range of any lidar with 340 vertical lines up to 250 meters, 568 vertical lines up to 120 meters, and 944 vertical lines up to 60 meters."

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MicroVision's stock has gained 1,225% in the last six months and over 3,000% throughout the past year. The rapid rise in share prices for a company that doesn't produce any significant revenues caused short-sellers to take notice.

In December Hindenburg Research blasted MicroVision calling the company a "corporate husk."

"We are short $MVIS. In a market gone mad, this $1.2 billion market cap corporate husk with almost no revenue or intellectual property value is a standout." Hindenburg Research tweeted.

"It has risen 5,000% from lows this year on misguided retail euphoria over its LiDAR IP portfolio amid a broad EV bubble," Hindenburg continued. "No one buys patents these days for any real money unless the patents have been put through the test of at least an IPR, our IP attorney told us."

MicroVision claims its Lidar sensors are some of the best, most scalable products in the industry.

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"We expect the capability of our LRL Sensor to meet or exceed OEM requirements, based on technology we have scaled multiple times over the last decade, as being a very strong strategic advantage," Sharma said.

"Additionally, our sensor being designed on scalable silicon wafer and laser diode technologies will be capable of achieving scale at costs below $1,000 ASP, a key price point expected for commercial success," added Sharma.

The company posted just $639,000 in revenue during the three months that ended in September and a net loss of $2.8 million.

MicroVision traded up 29.57%, at $18.14, as of 3:32 p.m. EST on Thursday.

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