GoPro rises on bullish note ahead of Q3...

October 28, 2014

By PATRICK SEITZ

Posted 02:52 PM ET

GoPro (NASDAQ:GPRO) regained some mojo Tuesday after Wedbush Securities initiated coverage of the action camera maker with an outperform rating.

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter set a 12-month price target of 81 for GoPro stock in a report Monday. GoPro was up 5%, near 68, in afternoon trading on the stock market today.

The stock had fallen for four straight days before the rebound. Last week, Oppenheimer initiated coverage of the recent IPO with an underperform rating and a price target of 45.

GoPro went public on June 26 at 24. The stock touched its all-time high of 98.47 on Oct. 7.

Oppenheimer analyst Andrew Uerkwitz said the market for action cameras like GoPro’s Hero lineup is limited and it will likely remain a niche product. He said investors have set “unrealistic expectations” for the company. Uerkwitz also cast doubt on GoPro’s prospects as a lifestyle brand and media company.

Wedbush’s Pachter countered by saying that GoPro leads in a “nascent and rapidly growing addressable market.” Its strong brand enables it to get premium prices for its cameras and accessories and it benefits from viral free marketing online from users posting photos and videos taken with their GoPro cameras.

GoPro competes with Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN), Sony (NYSE:SNE) and others in the action camera market.

GoPro looks poised for a big holiday shopping season with its new family of action cameras, announced Sept. 29. The new cameras include its top-of-the-line Hero4 for $499 and entry-level Hero for $129. GoPro also recently unveiled a larger showcase area at Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) stores nationwide.

The San Mateo, Calif.-based company is scheduled to report Q3 earnings Thursday after the market close. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect GoPro to earn 8 cents a share excluding items, on sales of $264 million.

In its first quarterly earnings report as a public company, GoPro beat expectations for Q2 sales and earnings. It earned 8 cents a share excluding items on sales of $244.6 million in the June quarter. Analysts were expecting adjusted earnings per share of 7 cents on sales of $238 million.

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GoPro stock has little upside at current price, report says.

Read More At Investor’s Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/technology-click/102814-723791-action-camera-maker-gopro-rebounds-on-upbeat-report.htm#ixzz3HUKHQcYN
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