Are GoPro's New Offerings Good Enough To Capture Its Revenue Targets?

BlueFin’s John Donovan believes GoPro Inc GPRO's HERO5 product “addresses many of the shortfalls with previous HERO devices, including a full waterproof capability without needing an additional case, voice activation, touch screen improvements, and uploading improvements for sharing videos across multiple devices.”

HERO5

The analyst mentioned that the significant upside to the build forecasts over the past few months have been driven mostly by the recently released HERO5.

Related Link: Ambarella Slowly Emerging From GoPro's Shadow

However, Donovan stated that the pricing is “curious,” especially following the HERO4 experience. The high end HERO5 Black is priced at $399, $100 below the HERO4, which could impact margins.

The HERO5 Session is priced at $299, this time $100 above the HERO4 Session, which could be viewed as too expensive.

Disappointing

“Ease-of-use appears to have been the main focus on the HERO5 and in that regard it clearly delivers the intended punch. Conversely, it is our view that GPRO needed to break away from solely the action camera segment of the market, and the fact that the camera is minimally better than the HERO4 is disappointing,” Donovan pointed out.

The analyst also noted that the lack of optical zoom and the option to interchange lenses could be limiting, and that reviews have placed the camera’s capability below that of the Apple Inc AAPL iPhone 7 Plus.

Karma Drone

On the other hand, the analyst views the drone offering, Karma, as “intriguing and enigmatic,” stating that the drone does not have a camera to keep the price down, which means that it would essentially be an accessory for the HERO line of cameras, which could limit market acceptance.

The lack of obstacle avoidance, precision hovering and target detection seem to suggest that the Karma is aimed at the beginner segment of the market, “again targeting ease-of-use,” Donovan added.

Full ratings data available on Benzinga Pro.