GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO) has plenty of room for growth, so analysts at FBN Securities have begun covering the company, setting an Outperform rating and $70 per share price target on its stock. They note that GoPro’s cameras are consistently named as being higher in quality than those by Canon, Sony and other well-known players in the camera market.
GoPro sees rapid growth
In a report dated Sept. 8, 2014, analyst Shebly Seyrafi said GoPro is “becoming a bit of a movement,” taking the camcorder market by storm and launching a content management service. The analyst notes that the company shipped only 3.8 million units last year, compared to the 30 million portable navigation devices and 90 million digital cameras and camcorders that were sold in the U.S. that year.
As a result, they say GoPro “has ample runway ahead” to drive strong growth for the next several years. In addition to domestic opportunities, they say that international growth presents a massive opportunity as well. Only 38% of the camera maker’s revenue is international, and it reported an 80% year over year growth rate in Asia.
Upside seen for GoPro
Although GoPro has set a long term target of between 42% and 44% gross margins, the FBN analyst sees upside to between 45% and 50%. That would be similar to the 51% to 52% levels the company reported in the first half of 2012 as it increased its scale. Because of the bigger scale, GoPro was able to benefit from larger orders in its supply chain. Also the company focused more on cost-effective products.
Like analysts at other firms, Seyrafi is expecting GoPro to launch new products in either the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of next year. The analyst notes that the company’s research and development expenses recently have been at around 13% to 14%, compared to 7% in the last two years. Of course any new product will likely be a catalyst for GoPro shares.
Tesla, others rise after FBN report
GoPro stock wasn’t the only one affected by FBN’s report today. Shares of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) also rose as the firm initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and $325 per share price target.
Ubiquiti Networks Inc (NASDAQ:UBNT) and Nimble Storage Inc (NYSE:NMBL) each rose by as much as 2% at one point. Also shares of Arista Networks Inc (NYSE:ANET) rose initially after the report before slumping by as much as 4% from today’s opening price.
FBN slapped an Outperform rating on all three stocks, with a $105 per share price target on Arista, a $55 per share price target on Ubiquiti and a $35 per share price target on Nimble.
