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GoPro ( GPRO ) investors are bracing for the worst as the maker of wearable action cameras prepares to report first-quarter results after the market close Thursday. GoPro stock fell 2.2% to 11.40 on the stock market today . A year ago, the stock traded near 50. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the San Mateo, Calif.-based company to lose 60 cents a share in Q1, compared with earnings per share of 24 cents in the year-earlier period. Sales are forecast to decline 53% to $169.1 million. For the current quarter, Wall Street is modeling for GoPro to lose 43 cents a share, compared with year-ago earnings of 35 cents a share, on sales of $245.6 million, down 42%. GoPro is facing concerns about market saturation and pricing pressure from competitors, including Garmin ( GRMN ), Sony ( SNE ) and others. Possible catalysts for the company include an upcoming flying-camera drone — a quadcopter called Karma — and devices for recording 360-degree videos for virtual reality headsets like Facebook ’s ( FB ) Oculus Rift. Karma is expected to debut this quarter. “We applaud GoPro’s recent moves to build a deeper technical bench and listen closely to customer and partner demands.” Oppenheimer analyst Andrew Uerkwitz said in a research report Tuesday. “However, we remain sidelined as upcoming product releases (drone, flagship camera, and possibly a 360-degree camera) can introduce much volatility.” Uerkwitz rates GoPro stock as perform, or hold. “We believe the March quarter results and June quarter guidance could be a bit rough as the company is in full-on transition mode,” Uerkwitz said. “We may see inventory issues (the March quarter is typically slow) for older cameras in the channels.” Dougherty analyst Charles Anderson reiterated his neutral rating on GoPro stock in a report Wednesday. “GoPro is currently suffering from a stale product portfolio and delayed efforts to improve editing software and general usability,” Anderson said. “This is harming demand and leading to declining sales. “The response has been a large increase in both R&D and sales and marketing spend, which is going to lead to near-term losses. We believe the company needs new, and differentiated, products to pull it out of the hole.” RELATED: GoPro Finds Woe In High Action-Camera Inventories Scalper1 News
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