New data shows that short sellers are closing in on Luminar Technologies (LAZR). Short analysis platform Fintel currently ranks it at the top of its short squeeze leadership board. Short interest in the Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) company is rising steadily, leading to an extremely high short squeeze score for Luminar. However, LAZR stock hasn’t started surging yet, which indicates that a short squeeze has not yet begun and isn’t likely to.
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What’s Going On with LAZR Stock?
Luminar closed out trading today in the red after initially rising. Shares began trending downward this afternoon and ended up declining 9.5%. While shares have popped in after-hours trading, recent price action doesn’t support the thesis that a LAZR stock short squeeze is going to take place. Shares are currently down 20% for the past five days after multiple dips amid high volatility.
Fintel’s short squeeze leaderboard shows that short interest in Luminar has surged since this week began, with the company rising quickly to the top of its ranks. It currently accounts for 387% of the stock’s float, which is certainly high. Short sellers currently have less than four days to cover their positions. And while the number of LAZR shares available to short is fairly low, it has increased in the past few hours.
This has yielded Luminar a total short squeeze score of 98.92 out of 100. As the platform notes, its model calculates these odds based on “a number of factors, including Short Interest % Float, Short Borrow Fee Rates, and others.” All the same, LAZR stock does not appear to be destined for a short squeeze.
Is Luminar Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Ultimately, Wall Street is sidelined on Luminar. Analysts have a Hold consensus rating on LAZR stock based on two Buys, three Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Although share prices have fallen 78% over the past year, the average LAZR price target of $33.75 per share implies 288% upside potential.
