Michael Pachter, Tavis McCourt Talk GoPro's Beat

GoPro Inc GPRO announced first quarter 2015 results yesterday, beating revenue estimates for the fourth consecutive quarter.

GoPro posted first quarter revenue of $363 million; a 54 percent year-over-year increase and well above the analyst consensus of $341 million. This is second highest quarterly revenue GoPro has posted. International sales accounted for more than half the quarterly revenue, with revenue specifically from Europe and Asia up 66 percent from the same quarter last year. GoPro posted diluted earnings per share of $0.24, beating the analyst consensus of $0.18 and marking a significant increase from $0.10 in the same quarter of last year.

GoPro shipped over 1.34 million units in the quarter, just over the analyst estimate of 1.3 million. This is the third consecutive quarter that GoPro has shipped over 1 million units and marks a 57 percent year-over-year increase.

CFO Jack Lazar anticipates second quarter revenue between $380 million and $400 million. This midpoint would be a 59 percent year-over-year increase.

GoPro highlighted that all of the top five selling cameras and camcorders in the United States are GoPro products. Additionally, GoPro accessories account for 7 of the top 10 best-selling camera accessories.

CEO Nick Woodman commented, “We kicked off 2015 by delivering the second highest revenue quarter in GoPro’s history. We are making investments in talent, technology, software, and innovative new products that will fuel growth and strengthen GoPro’s ecosystem.”

Following the release of the report, GoPro announced they will be acquiring Kolor, a virtual reality media editing company. GoPro did not release the terms of the deal.

Following the report, Michael Pachter of Wedbush maintained an Outperform rating on GoPro with a price target of $70. Pachter noted that GoPro’s earnings exceeded expectations for the fourth consecutive quarter, which is essentially its entire time as a public company. Pachter commented, “An unclear product roadmap makes modeling the company’s financial performance quite difficult, placing uncertainty around its valuation.” The analyst says it is reasonable to expect that GoPro will continue to come out with a new line of cameras but this cannot be confirmed. Pachter will be paying close attention to “functionality, pricing, and branding… with any perceived deficiencies in any of those departments potentially hurting sales.” However, Pachter is confident that GoPro remains “the undisputed king of action camcorders.”

Michael Pachter has a 49 percent overall success rate recommending stocks with +0.8 percent average return per rating.

Separately, Tavis McCourt of Raymond James upgraded GoPro from Market Perform to Outperform and set a $63 price target. Tavis turned bullish on the stock after an impressive earnings report and the announcement of the Kolor acquisition. McCourt commented that Kolor acquisition “demonstrates the potential for GoPro to ultimately move beyond its current form factor capture devices and to leverage its substantial brand to create new product markets or enter existing markets within the video capture category.”

Tavis McCourt has a 67 percent overall success rate recommending stocks with a +15.1 percent average return per recommendation.