Reviewing Luminar Technologies (NASDAQ:LAZR) and U Power (NASDAQ:UCAR)

Luminar Technologies (NASDAQ:LAZR) and U Power (NASDAQ:UCAR) are both small-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

31.0% of Luminar Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.2% of U Power shares are owned by institutional investors. 29.3% of Luminar Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Luminar Technologies and U Power, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Luminar Technologies	2	2	4	0	2.25
U Power	0	0	0	0	N/A

Luminar Technologies presently has a consensus price target of $7.09, indicating a potential upside of 467.00%. Given Luminar Technologies’ higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Luminar Technologies is more favorable than U Power.

Profitability

This table compares Luminar Technologies and U Power’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Luminar Technologies	-818.68%	N/A	-93.83%
U Power	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Luminar Technologies and U Power’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Luminar Technologies	$69.78 million	7.56	-$571.27 million	($1.47)	-0.85
U Power	$287.12 million	0.01	-$6.66 million	N/A	N/A

U Power has higher revenue and earnings than Luminar Technologies.

Summary

Luminar Technologies beats U Power on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Luminar Technologies

Luminar Technologies, Inc., an automotive technology company, provides sensor technologies and software for passenger cars and commercial trucks in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. It operates in two segments, Autonomy Solutions and Advanced Technologies and Services. The Autonomy Solutions segment designs, manufactures, and sells laser imaging, detection, and ranging sensors or lidars, as well as related perception and autonomy software solutions primarily for original equipment manufacturers in the automobile, commercial vehicle, robo-taxi, and adjacent industries. The Advanced Technologies and Services segment develops application-specific integrated circuits, pixel-based sensors, and advanced lasers. This segment also designs, tests, and provides consulting services for non-standard integrated circuits for use in automobile and aeronautics sector, as well as government spending in military and defense activities. The company was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

About U Power

U Power Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of new energy vehicles and battery swapping stations in the People's Republic of China. It also offers battery swapping and sourcing, as well as technical and consultation services. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Anhui, the People's Republic of China.