Barclays On GoPro: 'Progress Being Made But Still No Near-Term Catalyst'

GoPro Inc GRO is making strides to turn around its slumping business, but it still might not be enough to boost its struggling stock. Barclays analyst Joseph Wolf is waiting to see a major upside catalyst from GoPro. According to Wolf, solid-but-unspectacular earnings reports are not enough to justify buying GoPro stock.
 

“We struggle to find a catalyst in the near-term to get excited about the stock at current levels, especially now with the Karma launch delayed,” he explains.

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The late 2016 HERO5 launch could end up being that catalyst. But after traders got burned on the Session, Wolf predicts that there will be very little buying in anticipation of the HERO5. It will be up to GoPro to actually deliver strong HERO5 sales. In the meantime, the stock will likely continue to flounder and Barlcays is not prepared to call a bottom just yet.

GoPro stock is down 43.4 percent in 2016, and the stock’s post-earnings dip now has it once again knocking on the door of a single-digit share price.

Wolf believes that the company’s four-pronged long-term focus on drones, virtual reality, software and content will eventually pay off, but each area will take quite some time to fully mature.

Barclays maintains an Equal Weight rating on GoPro and a $12 price target.

Disclosure: the author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.