GoPro: 2 Things Wall Street Is Saying

GoPro Inc (NASDAQ: GPRO), usually recognized for its rambunctious and boyish executives will now be known for another title: having the highest compensated CEO in the United States. CEO Nick Woodman, the 39 year-old billionaire and founder of the company, will receive compensation of 4.5 million restricted stock units, valued at $284.5 million, according to Bloomberg.

GoPro released its IPO of $24 per share in June of 2014, garnering a lot of media attention as the “must have” action camera. GoPro shares soared in early October, reaching a 52-week high of $98. However, the stock came back down to reality and last closed at $44.62 on April 19. GoPro will announce first quarter financial results on April 28 after market close.

According to Smarter Analyst, analyst Erinn Murphy of Piper Jaffray maintained an Overweight rating on GoPro with a price target of $55 on April 20. Murphy believes that GoPro is undervalued and has the potential to double unit sales over time.

The analyst commented, “From a thesis perspective, this is a relevant consumer brand benefiting from early stage of customer adoption through accelerating product sales of capture devices within a broader eco-system that is capitalizing on experiences.”

Murphy continued to note that teens are spending more time on social media platforms “laden with visual content,” which offers opportunities for GoPro.

Murphy estimates that GoPro will post strong earnings in the second half of 2015 driven by: “1) stronger than expected upgrade cycle success; 2) distribution expansion and continued sell through momentum in Europe & Asia and 3) ongoing strength of the $130 HERO as the consumer market for action cameras broadens.”

Erin Murphy has a 47 percent overall success rate recommending stocks with a +0.3 average return per recommendation.

Separately last week, analyst Charlie Anderson of Dougherty & Co. upgraded GoPro from Neutral to Buy with a price target of $55. Anderson noted that recent data for Google searches shows that GoPro searches increased 33 percent year-over-year globally and 27 percent year-over-year in the United States.

The analyst was also impressed by GoPro’s growing social media presence, noting that brand amassed thousands of new YouTube channel subscribers, Instagram followers, and Facebook “likes” in the past week.

Charlie Anderson has rated GoPro 13 times since June 2014, earning a 67 percent success rate recommending the stock with a +19 percent average return per GPRO rating, Overall, Anderson has a 77 percent success rate recommending stocks with a +33.8 percent average return per rating.

On average, the top analyst consensus for GoPro on TipRanks is Moderate Buy.