Analysts love this self-driving car tech stock and give it over 400% upside

Published Sun, Dec 10 20237:11 PM EST

Shares of Innoviz Technologies could surge over 400% in the next 12 months, according to analysts at three investment banks. The Israeli firm, whose shares are listed on the Nasdaq, makes sensors and automotive software that are key to enabling driverless cars. The company's LiDAR ("light detection and ranging") sensors are used by autonomous vehicles to navigate their surroundings without human intervention. The company has a number of major partnerships in the pipeline, including with luxury carmaker BMW which uses Innoviz's sensors in its advanced driver assistance system for the 7 Series sedan. Innoviz has also said it has partnerships with Volkswagen and an unnamed major Asian automaker, representing nearly $7 billion in potential revenue over the next decade. Wall Street's bullish outlook JP Morgan has the highest price target on Wall Street at $13, implying over 626% returns from current levels. The company's stock currently trades at $1.79. "We expect the combination of numerous wins, large volume wins, balance of LiDAR costs and performance, and ability to support highway autonomy at high speeds to position Innoviz to ramp revenues well through the end of the decade, while cost discipline should drive profitability," said JPMorgan analysts Samik Chatterjee and Joeseph Cardoso in a note to clients on Aug. 10. The Wall Street bank's analysts reiterated their bullish price target on Nov. 13 after Innoviz released its third-quarter results. INVZ YTD line German investment bank Berenberg also sees big potential at the firm, giving it a $12 price target, representing a 570% upside. The bank's analyst believes Innoviz is the best-positioned LiDAR player, with around 15% global market share based on expected production volumes. Analysts at WestPark Capital also expect Innoviz shares to rise by more than 450% to $10 a share over the next 12 months. Smaller upside and key risks Although bullish, other Wall Street brokers are more moderate on the upside for Innoviz shares. Cantor Fitzgerald analysts expect the stock to rise to $6 a share, which still represents a 235% upside from current levels. Meanwhile, Rosenblatt analysts believe another top 10 global automaker will select Innoviz for an autonomous driving system by the end of the year. They expect shares to rise 173% to $5, but have a "hold" rating on the stock for now. While optimistic about the self-driving opportunity, analysts do caution that there are risks around competing technologies, customer concentration with its few automaker partners, and regulations that could slow adoption. Short-seller backing High-profile short-seller Citron Research has also backed the company by disclosing a long position in the stock. Citron said Innoviz has over $5 billion in "committed contracts" with most of their customers. "Yes that number 'is real'. Meanwhile stock is trading less than cash. This can be an easy double once the St realizes that Innoviz is the LIDAR leader," said Citron's Andrew Left in a post on X. Left has also previously shorted Innoviz's competitor, Luminar . Innoviz posted revenue of $3.5 million for the third quarter, beating Wall Street's expectations. The company said the strong result was driven by higher sales volumes of its InnovizTwo sensor and additional non-recurring engineering (NRE) revenue. NRE refers to customers' upfront cash payments during the development and testing phases. — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.