Shares of Luminar Technologies Inc. LAZR rose nearly 3% in midday trading Tuesday after the lidar company unveiled a slew of initiatives during its investor day, including news it bought in January Seagate Technologies Holdings PLC’s STX lidar-related assets, including intellectual property, for an undisclosed amount. Luminar also said its plant in Mexico is ahead of schedule, now expected to come online in the second quarter versus company guidance that it would be up in the second half of the year. The plant will go through a “rigorous validation process” later this year, the company said. Luminar plans to launch an insurance program, and announced a joint venture with reinsurance company Swiss Re AG CH:SREN to test and analyze Luminar’s lidar on-road safety and accident prevention capabilities, which “we expect will substantially reduce insurance claims,” it said. Shares of Luminar have lost about 35% in the last 12 months, compared with losses of around 9% for the S&P 500 index. SPX
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