An Aurora spokesperson told Automotive News that Anderson’s disposition of 1.2 million shares over the past two months was not related to the company’s recent capital raise or performance. Rather it is part of a 10b5-1 plan established in September 2022.
The Securities and Exchange Commission-regulated plan lets insiders at publicly traded companies sell stock incrementally by setting up a predetermined hedging strategy that specifies the share price, amount and transaction date. The insider and broker making the transactions must certify they are not aware of any material nonpublic information.
“If the entire plan is executed, Mr. Anderson will continue to own approximately 85% of his original shares in Aurora,” the spokesperson said.
Institutional investors generally do not like to see senior executives selling sizable amounts of shares in their company over the course of a year, but there is not much to be concerned about over Anderson’s transactions, said Tom White, senior equity research analyst at D.A. Davidson Cos.
White said it would be a different story if the seller was Chris Urmson, Aurora’s CEO and co-founder. Urmson, who previously helped established Google’s self-driving car program — now know as Waymo — is the key player behind Aurora’s business strategy, White said.
“If he was selling stock in size and they didn’t have a great explanation for it, I think that would raise a lot of eyebrows,” White said, referring to Urmson.
Aurora’s successful capital raise signals that investors are confident in the company’s management team, long-term prospects and its ability to attract technical talent, he said.
In an investment note, White said Aurora is well-positioned in the self-driving sector because it is one of three autonomous vehicle companies aggressively hiring technical talent in a space that is consolidating.
Aurora has 2,500 employees, the third largest employee base among a self-driving tech company universe that includes Cruise, Waymo, Aura, TuSimple, Torc, Pony.ai and Embark as analyzed by D.A. Davidson via LinkedIn Talent Insights, White said.
He said Aurora is on track to be a relevant independent in the self-driving tech sector because of its leadership’s long experience working on autonomous vehicle technology for large vehicles.
The company also has a unique approach to technology development and its roster of established investors and partners that include Volvo/Paccar Uber and Continental, White said.
Aurora has not named the investors in the $600 million private stock offering of 222.2 million shares that sold for $2.70 per share. Uber disclosed its holdings in an SEC filing.
Additionally, venture capitalist Michelangelo Volpi who co-founded Index Ventures, the third largest investor in Aurora, bought 1.9 million shares from the private offering for a total of about $5 million, according to an SEC filing.
“A number of existing institutional and strategic investors in Aurora participated in the capital raise,” the company spokesperson said.
In the second portion of the funding, Aurora raised $220 million in a public stock offering of 73.3 million shares at $3 per share.
The offerings’ underwriters Goldman Sachs, Allen & Company, Evercore Group, Canaccord Genuity, TD Cowen and Nomura Securities have a 30-day option to buy an additional 11 million shares, in total, at a discount from the public offering.
For all the latest Automobile News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
