I'd say CBR is in a similar position to where Tesla was prior to the Model S. They had a small number of products (Roadster) and limited market share. A not-yet profitable, but promising technology, with a pathway towards iterative improvements, and many potential customers waiting on the sidelines to see if it would hold up to scrutiny before hitching their wagon.
During the investor call this morning, the CEO/CFO mentioned that low volume runs with a new OEM on limited-edition models are how they've tended to front-load a lot of the non-recurring engineering efforts, getting a foothold with the company and making it an easy decision for the OEM to expand CBR's products through their model lineup. This is playing out with Ford and Ferrari at the moment. Renault had the limited-run vehicle, and I'm pretty sure the corvette and this new "Asian OEM" (guessing a Hyundai N hot hatch) will be similar.
Its not about profitability right now (aside from showing a path towards achieving a break-even point, eventually), its about setting the thin edge of the wedge.
Market seems to like what its seeing, and/or realizes it oversold on the earlier bad news - up 17.6% at close.
CBR Price at posting:
$1.74 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
