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Drone Delay Bad Karma For GoPro; Stock Skids On Q1 Report

Action-camera maker GoPro ( GPRO ) took an ugly spill on Friday, a day after it reported mixed Q1 earnings results and postponed the launch of its flying-camera drone. GoPro shares tumbled more than 7%, below 10, in morning trading on the stock market today . GoPro stock started the year near 18. Investors have dumped GoPro shares in recent months on concerns that the company is a one-hit wonder that has largely saturated the market for its wearable cameras. In the March quarter, San Mateo, Calif.-based GoPro lost 63 cents a share, compared with earnings per share of 24 cents in the year-earlier period. Sales fell 49%, $183.5 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected GoPro to lose 60 cents a share on sales of $169.1 million. GoPro pushed back the launch of its Karma drone by about six months to the holiday season from the end of Q2. GoPro needs Karma to be a hit, Dougherty analyst Charles Anderson said in a research report Friday. “It is incumbent upon GoPro to release a great drone, not merely a good one, considering how strong the competition is,” Anderson said. “So if they need more time to work on it, we endorse the idea.” Anderson rates GoPro stock as neutral. “Until investors can judge the commercial appeal of Karma and the forthcoming Hero 5 camera, we don’t see any upside or downside catalysts for the stock,” he said. GoPro is preparing to launch a consumer drone at a time when current vendors, such as DJI, Parrot and 3DR, are cutting prices, Piper Jaffray analyst Erinn Murphy said in a report Friday. She rates GoPro stock as underweight. “Pricing has slipped from the $700-$900 range to the $400-$600 range, and we are continuing to see promotional activity accelerate in the space,” Murphy said. “GoPro will be releasing its drone at a time where the consumer has not only seen growing options of drones, but following what amounted to be an increasing promotional environment for the category since last holiday.” GoPro Promises Drone With ‘Revolutionary Features’ On the company’s earnings conference call with analysts late Thursday, GoPro CEO Nick Woodman said Karma will have “revolutionary features” not found on other drones currently on the market. “Karma includes revolutionary features that differentiate it from other drones — features that make it much more than a drone and deliver the versatility, value and performance that consumers expect from GoPro,” Woodman said. “To give ourselves more time to fine-tune these features, we have made the difficult decision to push Karma’s launch to the holidays.” Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter remained positive on GoPro’s longer-term prospects. He reiterated his outperform rating on GoPro stock, with a 12-month price target of 13. “After a series of high-profile missteps, including the disastrous Hero 4 Session launch, the lack of new Hero cameras at year-end, and a negative pre-announcement in January, 2016 presents an inflection point for GoPro stock,” Pachter said. “Given its history of innovation, we are willing to give GoPro the benefit of the doubt for the time being, and see upside if the Karma drone and the Hero 5 are well-received. “However, the delay of the Karma launch suggests delayed gratification for investors, and we do not expect investors to return to GoPro stock until there is greater visibility into the company’s product launches.” GoPro maintained its full-year revenue guidance, but might be too optimistic, Pachter said. “In order to hit the high end of its guidance, GoPro would have to have wild success with its next motion-capture devices, and the Q4 Karma launch would have to drive all-time record quarterly sales,” Pachter said. “While we think that these outcomes are possible, we are reluctant to remain Pollyannaish about GoPro’s prospects.” GoPro expects full-year sales of $1.35 billion to $1.5 billion, or $1.43 billion at the midpoint. Wall Street had been modeling full-year sales at $1.37 billion. In 2015, GoPro posted sales of $1.62 billion. Shares of Ambarella ( AMBA ), which makes image processing chips for GoPro cameras, were flat, near 38, in morning trading Friday. RELATED: GoPro Adds Developer Program After Snatching Apple Designer

GoPro Finds Woe In High Action-Camera Inventories

Beleaguered GoPro ( GPRO ) saw its shares tank anew on Monday on a report that unsold Hero action cameras are piling up at retail. GoPro stock fell 8.3% to 12.82 on the stock market today . Key supplier Ambarella ( AMBA ), which makes image-processing chips, saw its shares slide 5.9% to 41.96. Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brad Erickson said his firm’s U.S. retail checks showed GoPro’s days of inventory nearing all-time highs. “Channel inventory is again too high,” Erickson said in a report Sunday. “Our checks detected days of inventory at roughly three weeks consistently over the past month, and we estimate aggregate sell-through in the United States was down nearly 40% year-over-year in Q1.” He predicted continued “action camera softness” and expressed doubts about whether GoPro’s planned Karma drone could turn things around for the company. He rates GoPro stock as sector weight, with a fair value of 9 to 10. GoPro’s Hero action cameras are “a compelling device for a small niche of buyers,” but the company needs to improve ease of use to expand the market, Erickson said. GoPro is expected to launch its flying camera drone toward the end of the second quarter. The device could double GoPro’s total addressable market, he said. “We believe the stock has gotten some recent lift anticipating Karma, which could persist depending on how it is initially perceived by investors,” Erickson said. There are many unknowns about Karma including price, functionality and how it will compare to competitors like DJI. Erickson estimates that 5 million to 6 million consumer, camera-enabled drones will ship this year worldwide, roughly equivalent to the action camera market. RELATED: GoPro Rockets After Hiring Key Apple Designer

Tesla Up 20% This Month: What Does Short Seller Citron Think Now?

Loading the player… With Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) now trading at its highest levels this year, Citron Research’s short position in the electric-car maker’s stock has not been successful so far. Citron said on March 1 that Tesla had “supply AND demand problems,” which “should take down” the stock to 100 by the end of the year. Shares are currently trading around 235. Shares reversed fractionally higher in light turnover on Tuesday, building on its seven straight daily gains. Citron sent out its tweet one session after the stock hit resistance at its 50-day line. But Tesla was able to retake that level soon after and recently recaptured the 200-day line too. The stock has risen about 23% since the Citron tweet. Other Citron shorts, including GoPro ( GPRO ), Ambarella ( AMBA ) and Mobileye ( MBLY ), have not fared as well. GoPro is trading 80% below its 52-week high, while Ambarella is 68% below its 52-week peak. Mobileye is about 44% below its high reached last August. Tesla Unveiling Model 3 Soon Tesla shares could be getting a boost from the upcoming launch of its mass-market Model 3, which will be unveiled next Thursday. But with gas prices still at very low levels and Tesla struggling to ramp up production, some remain skeptical. Many of the top automakers are rushing out their own EVs. Tesla’s $35,000 car is set to compete with mainstream car brand offerings, most notably the Chevy Bolt from General Motors ( GM ). Tesla has made its mark in the luxury electric car space and has been a leader in implementing autonomous driving features with its Autopilot software. Other notable companies working on self-driving cars include Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google and China’s Baidu ( BIDU ). Even Apple ( AAPL ) is reportedly doing work on its own car, dubbed “Project Titan.” Alphabet, Baidu and Apple shares were up a fraction Tuesday, while General Motors edged down.