It’s been three months since the GoPro Karma was pulled from the shelves and recalled due to a serious power failure that was causing some of them to drop out of the sky, but it’s now available again. The company announced in a press release today that that the quadcopter drone is for sale again in the same kit at the same price point it was initially. The big question now is whether consumers will be ready to take a chance on it after the huge flop the first time around.
GoPro Karma arrives with a new battery latch
The GoPro Karma kit comes with the drone of course, which is quite small and can be folded and carried easily in a backpack, and the Karma Grip three-axis camera stabilizer. The grip can be held in the hand, mounted on the drone or worn. The company said that by appearance, this is the same GoPro Karma that was launched late last year, but it has redesigned the battery latch for “a small change that led to a huge improvement.”
The GoPro Karma is on sale for about $800 by itself or $1,100 if bundled with the HERO5 Black camera. The company said it’s also working on a Flight Kit for those who bought the Karma Grip separately.
“Karma is the ultimate aerial, handheld and wearable stabilization solution for the GoPro community,” GoPro Founder and Chief Executive Nick Woodman said in a statement. “As the consumer drone market continues to grow, Karma delivers the most versatile solution at a very accessible price.”
GoPro to report earnings on Thursday
GoPro’s announcement comes just a day before its next earnings release. On average, Wall Street expects the action camera maker to report non-GAAP earnings of 23 cents per share and $577 million in revenue. The company guided for earnings of 25 cents to35 cents per share and sales of $600 million to $650 million for the holiday shopping quarter.
Wedbush analyst Nick McKay said in his earnings preview report that the company’s Nov. 30 press release seems to have de-risked tomorrow’s report. The camera maker said that unit sell-through over Black Friday week grew 35% year over year at leading retailers in the U.S. Unit sales between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday increased 33% on the company’s website alone. Notably, even though these numbers do not support the guided 37% to 49% growth in sales, the company did not cut its outlook for the quarter.
Is a short squeeze on tap for GoPro stock?
McKay said that it’s possible a short squeeze will come from GoPro’s fourth quarter results; although short interest has fallen, it remains at 24%. He warned that a squeeze could result if the company maintains its previous outlook for positive earnings this year. The current consensus stands at losses of 31 cents per share, so upward earnings revisions are likely if that happens. The consensus for 2017 revenue stands at $1.4 billion.
GoPro shares jumped earlier this week when BlackRock disclosed in a regulatory filing that it had boosted its position in the company. The stock slumped by about 2% before turning around following the announcement about the re-launch of the GoPro Karma. Shares were at $10.64 as of this writing.
