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Technology Stocks : GoPro - Be A Hero -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SI Ron (Crazy Music Man) who wrote (101)	2/17/2015 5:41:47 PM
From: Glenn Petersen	Respond to of 205

The expiration of the lock=up turned out to be a non-event...at least for now. Lock-Up Day Arrives for GoPro. One Analyst Says It’s Time to Buy the Stock. By Erik Holm Wall Street Journal 9:13 am ET, Feb 17, 2015 Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters ________________ On a day when 76 million more shares of GoPro Inc. GPRO +12.48% are eligible to hit the market, one analyst is saying it’s time to buy. Tuesday marks the expiration of a so-called post-IPO lock-up for some of the sport-camera maker’s early investors. It’s often one of the most-watched and feared days for a stock after an IPO, as it means new shares can flood the market and potentially drive down the price of a stock. But Gus Richard of Northland Capital Markets initiated coverage of GoPro shares Tuesday with a buy recommendation and a $70 price target, which represents a 55% increase from the stock’s most recent close. He calls the company, which makes high-definition, wearable video cameras, an “extremely well branded high growth consumer franchise.” Mr. Richard joins a roster of analysts who say the stock has already been hit by the looming lock-up expiration. GoPro shares have fallen roughly 30% since the start of 2015–a steep drop that continued even after the company reported strong holiday sales earlier this month. Mr. Richard says that means investors now have “an attractive entry point” for buying shares in the company. So far, there’s little evidence that the expiration is causing any further pressure on the shares on Tuesday. The stock was up 1.6% to $45.98 in early trading. GoPro had one earlier lock-up expiration in December, when some shareholders–including founder and Chief Executive Nick Woodman’s father–had the opportunity to sell. But a number of shareholders deferred their chance to sell shares in December when they participated in a November secondary stock offering and agreed to hold shares until now. GoPro’s cameras first gained popularity as a way for surfers, skateboarders and other lovers of extreme sports to document their exploits, but the audience for the company’s tiny video cameras has been growing beyond that core group. Mr. Richard says GoPro has the chance to broaden its product appeal “far beyond sports enthusiasts,” and predicts that its devices will become more heavily adopted as they become smaller and less conspicuous. In August, GoPro unveiled a camera harness for dogs it calls “Fetch.” And the Wall Street Journal reported that the firm is working on a line of drones equipped with high-definition cameras as well. Mr. Richard theorizes that “another product direction” could be a camera that “captures a 360 degree field of view.” Still, he cites a few risks facing the company. Among them: potential competition from Apple Inc. AAPL +0.50% As he writes: While Sony, Nikon, Canon or Olympus come to mind as competitors, we think that Apple is most likely the competitor to watch. Apple has always been well branded with creative types such as those in the artist and film markets and historically people who use Photoshop are more likely to do so with an Apple product. Image capture would be a compelling market opportunity for Apple as it would also drive sales of its computer product line. However, based on our work we are not aware of any near term product launch from Apple in the image capture market. UPDATE: A handful of loyal readers have sent emails (and one posted a comment) to suggest that the lock-up doesn’t end until next week, based upon their reading of the filings tied to the November secondary offering. We took a look at the language they flagged and wondered if we’d missed something, but it turns out we didn’t. We’ve reconfirmed with the company and others in the know, and they all confirm that Mr. Richard is correct about the lock-up ending Tuesday. –Maureen Farrell contributed to this article. blogs.wsj.com