GoPro hits record low as analysts urge selling
Struggling camera maker’s shares dive on Goldman, Citi recommendations
GoPro Inc. fell to a record low Monday after Goldman Sachs became the second firm in two days to recommend selling the stock, highlighting the San Mateo camera maker’s struggles to compete in an increasingly competitive market and overcome missteps with new products.
“We think GoPro’s main challenge is that its core action market is largely saturated, as it has not attracted a significantly broader and more mainstream audience,” Simona Jankowski, an analyst at Goldman Sachs, wrote in a note to clients. “We expect GoPro to continue to struggle fundamentally.”
The shares fell as much as 10 percent to $7.95, the lowest intraday price since June 2014, when the company first sold shares to the public at $24. They closed at $8.14.
On Friday, Citigroup Global Markets initiated coverage of the stock with a sell recommendation and a price target of $8. Citi analyst
Stanley Kovler called the company the “best house in a deteriorating neighborhood.”
GoPro’s market-leading action camera products are not enough to overcome the overall decline in stand-alone imaging products like camcorders and cameras, and increased saturation in mature markets like the U.S., he wrote.
In early February, GoPro gave another disappointing earnings report and forecast, capping what has been a string of mishaps. The company was forced to recall its Karma drone in November, less than two months after its muchhyped debut and the new Hero5 camera — that Chief Executive Officer Nick Woodman had been counting on to revitalize demand — was hit with production delays, leading to lower sales.
In November, GoPro said that it would eliminate about 15 percent of its workforce and shut down its entertainment division to reduce costs. GoPro said this month that it would reduce adjusted operating expenses to less than $600 million this year. But Goldman’s Jankowski said the company will need to get that down to less than $500 million in order to break even on an operating basis.
In order to “get more positive on GoPro shares,” Jankowski said she’d need to see the company nail its product development and releases, especially the Hero6 for the holiday season — “enough to reinvigorate growth in the core business as well as add distance to competitors such as YI Technology.”
Also, she’d need to see a “more compelling drone introduction” and would look for GoPro to introduce an integrated 360 video capture device.