GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO) is on several lists this holiday season. Some of them good, some of them not so desirable.
While holiday sales look to be bright, as the trendy upscale adventure sports camera makes it way on many gift lists, it is a certain hedge fund list that GoPro might want to avoid: the short seller’s list.
GoPro’s stock has risen despite being shorted
Numerous hedge funds have publically expressed their skepticism about the much-hyped stock, and others have held their public tongue on the firm while shorting the stock in what is considered a “rich” valuation. Despite this, the stock has risen from an initial public offering price of $40 in late June to touch $100 per share this past October, causing pain for shorts and confounding certain analysts while rewarding investors.
One of the key components being carefully watched is how GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO) expands its business out of the competitive camera field and diversify its product offering. During its IPO marketing period the firm was marketed as a “media” firm, expanding its valuation. This “media” strategy has yet to materialize, but a new product line is emerging.
GoPro developing consumer drones
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that GoPro is developing its own line of consumer drones. Unfortunately for the company’s 2014 fourth quarter results, the product won’t be ready in time for this year’s holiday season.
The report says the extreme sports camera company will strap its core product onto a drone and start selling the packaged product in 2015. The price will range form $500 to $1,000, according to unnamed sources.
Such a package would cut out the middleman in current drone / camera combinations. Most consumer drones are sold by a separate company and the camera is a separate component. In making entry into this market, GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO) is cutting out the middle man and manufacturing both the drone and the camera.
Will it help set the stock into a strong flight path? It is up over 6 percent in afternoon trading after the news was released.
