GoPro YouTube Channel Views At Highest Level Since Hero4 Launch

In a report published Tuesday, Dougherty & Company analyst Charles Anderson maintained a Buy rating on GoPro Inc GPRO, with a price target of $65.

GoPro launched its newest camera, the Hero4 Session, and “reversed many downtrends.” Although the camera was not available for sale until July 12, “last week's data primarily gauged interest levels in the device,” analyst Charles Anderson said.

Google searches for the GoPro brand rose 43 percent y/y globally, versus 8 percent y/y in the prior week. Google searches in the US were up 31 percent, versus a decline of 9 percent y/y in the previous week. YouTube searches for "GoPro" rose 20 percent YOY, after four weeks of flat y/y searches.

The GoPro app for iPhone declined in the US 15 y/y percent, versus a 17 percent rise in the prior week. On Google Play, the app slid 3 percent y/y, versus a 6 percent y/y decline in the previous week. On the iPad, it was down 19 percent y/y, as compared to a 21 percent y/y plunge in the prior week.

“We would expect these metrics to be weak in front of a new camera launch (buyers waiting),” Anderson wrote.

“In terms of our charts that attempt to capture how GoPro is selling China vs. the sub-$100 camera sold by Chinese brand Xiaomi, we again saw that iPhone users are favoring GoPro while Android users are favoring Xiaomi,” Anderson added.

In the report Dougherty & Company noted that there were “a few caveats worth considering” when analyzing the data:

1. “GoPro YOY unit growth outperformed Google searches in Q4 and Q1 (as a brand matures, less keyword search research is necessary)
2. Apps downloaded do not capture buyers of the low-end $130 HERO camera (it has no Wi-Fi to pair with an app) nor do they capture repeat buyers of GoPro products (the app would already be installed)”

Last week, GoPro added 29K subscribers to its YouTube channel and more than 94K new Instagram followers. “We note videos on the GoPro YouTube channel were viewed over 10MM times last week -- the highest weekly level since the launch of the Hero4 lineup of cameras late last year,” Anderson said.