GoPro stock plunged today after soaring on Wednesday in the wake of the company’s strong earnings report. Shares fell by as much as 5.99% to $49.79 per share after climbing as high as $53.82 per share on Wednesday.
Concerns about competition
Overall, analysts remain positive on GoPro, although on Wednesday, Lido Isle Advisors managing partner Jason Rotman told CNBC‘s Closing Bell that the action camera maker is a “one-trick pony.” He worries about competition from China’s Xiaomi, which makes a far less expensive action camera, and others.
However, FBN Securities analyst Sebly Seyrafi raised his price target for GoPro from an already-bullish $75 per share up to an even more bullish $80 per share. He maintained his Outperform rating on the action camera maker and, unlike Rotman, said he remains unconcerned about competition. He thinks the concerns are overblown.
GoPro price target upped by FBN
Seyrafi also pointed out in his April 29 note that GoPro beat estimates on all of the important metrics. Revenue of $36 million was 7% higher than the consensus, while non-GAAP earnings of 24 cents per share were ahead by 33%. The company sold 1.342 million units, beating the consensus of 1.33 million, and the average selling price was $271, compared to the consensus of $260.
Further, he pointed out that management guided “very strongly” for the second quarter with revenue between $380 million and $400 million, higher than the consensus of $334 million. Gross margins also continue to improve.
GoPro performs well internationally
The FBN analyst also noted that GoPro is ramping well in international markets, especially China. JPMorgan analysts Paul Coster, Paul Chung and Mark Strouse also noted the company’s strong international sales in their post-earnings note on April 29. GoPro performed especially well in Korea and Japan as well. The company saw a 65% increase in international sales, which accounted for about half of its total revenue.
In their April 29 note, Barclays analyst Joseph Wolf and his team also remarked on GoPro’s international sales growth. They see an especially big opportunity for the action camera maker in China, where management is focusing on expanding their retail presence. Further, they said it doesn’t appear as if competition from Xiaomi in China is pressuring GoPro’s pricing as some had expected it would. They don’t believe Xiaomi’s Yi will threaten GoPro’s main customer base or keep the company from seeing growth in China.
Although Barclays remains Equal Weight-rated on the company, they upped their price target from $47 to $50 per share.
More clarity needed
Wedbush analysts Michael Pachter, Nick McKay and Alicia Reese maintained their Outperform rating and $70 per share price target on GoPro in their April 29 note, noting all the beats in the company’s earnings report. However, they think GoPro’s product roadmap remains unclear, and thus makes it difficult to model the camera maker’s financial performance.
It’s expected that GoPro will release another line of cameras later this year, but management has released no details about their plans. The Webush team would like to hear more about functionality, pricing structure and branding. They want to know if this year will bring a complete product refresh like last year’s HERO4 or whether it will be more of an “enhanced version of a predecessor like the HERO3+ was.”
