Shares of Luminar (LAZR) were under a bit of pressure on Tuesday after Northland analyst Gus Richard downgraded the stock to Market Perform on valuation despite believing the company will be the automotive lidar leader. Meanwhile, Andrew Left's Citron Research said via Twitter that it expects "suckers game" Luminar shares will fall back to $20, or about half of the stock's current trading price.

MOVING TO THE SIDELINES

In a research note to investors, Northland analyst Gus Richard downgraded Luminar to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $41, up from $16. The analyst acknowledged that he believes Luminar will be the automotive lidar leader and estimates the automotive lidar market will be worth $2.5B in calendar year 2025. However, even assuming 100% share, the stock is trading at six times what he sees as the 2025 auto lidar market, and 18 times his 2025 revenue estimate. Richard thinks there will likely be a better entry point into the stock on the path toward a volume production ramp.

CITRON SEES SHARES BACK TO $20

Andrew Left's Citron Research predicted via Twitter that "suckers game" Luminar will fall back to $20 per share. The firm, known for its short-selling ideas, said it would rather own "industry leader" Velodyne Lidar (VLDR). Citron expects Velodyne shares will rally to $30. "$LAZR at $14 bil ($40) is not even a casino stock...you can actually win at a casino..it is more of a "suckers game" Would much rather own industry leader $VLDR at less than $4 bil mkt cap. Citron expects $LAZR back at $20 and $VLDR at $30," the tweet read.

PRICE ACTION

In afternoon trading, shares of Luminar has dropped about 3% to $39.64.