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Shares of Luminar Technologies (NASDAQ:LAZR) stock are down more than 50% year-to-date (YTD), although that hasn't stopped CEO Austin Russell from purchasing shares. This month, Russell has picked up a total of 75,000 shares in three separate transactions, with his most recent purchase falling on Sept. 20. All three transactions were enacted via a prearranged 10b5-1 plan that was established on June 21. Furthermore, the 10b5-1 plan hints that more purchases may be on the way.

On Sept. 20, JPMorgan initiated coverage of LAZR stock with an "overweight" rating and a price target of $30. Analyst Samik Chatterjee believes that Luminar is an autonomous driving technology industry leader with a strong order book. By the end of the decade, Chatterjee expects Luminar to have the "strongest revenue" among its peer group, even though it currently has an order book trailing behind Innoviz Technologies (NASDAQ:INVZ).

Furthermore, Luminar's focus on Level 3 (L3) and higher autonomous driving may influence original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to add LiDAR technology onto their L2 platforms as they prepare for L3. The analyst's price target of $30 is based on 2030 earnings per share (EPS) of "close to" $7.25 and revenue of $6 billion.

Chatterjee concluded, "Luminar will likely be the largest pure-play LiDAR supplier at the end of the decade, and the supplier with the highest margins, and the only supplier we expect not to require incremental capital to navigate a ramp."

Shares of LAZR carry an average price target of $15.17 among 12 analysts with coverage of the stock. JPMorgan has the highest price target of $30, while the lowest price target is set at $8.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the company's largest shareholders.

5 Investors Still Betting Big on LAZR Stock

Tracking institutional ownership is important, as these large investors provide liquidity and price support for stocks. During Q2, 230 funds reported owning LAZR, an increase of nine funds from the prior quarter. On the other hand, the institutional put/call ratio sits at a high 2.02, up from 0.91 during Q1. This means that institutions own more put options against Luminar than call options by a wide margin. In total, 13F filers own 121.40 million shares, up from 97.74 shares quarter-over-quarter. So, who are Luminar's largest shareholders?

1. Austin Russell: 97.24 million shares. Russell's position is accurate as of May 2.
2. Vanguard Group: 18.80 million shares. Vanguard sold 409,365 shares during Q2.
3. BlackRock (NYSE:BLK): 16.36 million shares. BlackRock purchased 11.73 million shares during Q2.
4. G2 Venture Partners: 10.59 million shares. G2's position remained unchanged during Q2.
5. Macquarie Group: 5.81 million shares. Macquarie purchased 6,033 shares during Q2.

On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

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