Tag Archives: gpro

GoPro Rockets After Hiring Key Apple Designer

GoPro ( GPRO ) stock soared Wednesday after the action camera maker hired a key designer from Apple ( AAPL ). GoPro shares were up 20% to near 14 in late-afternoon trading on the stock market today . The San Mateo, Calif.-based company hired Danny Coster as vice president of design, effective at the end of April. He will report to GoPro CEO and founder Nick Woodman. Coster was a core member of Apple’s elite industrial design team for more than 20 years. His work can be seen on products ranging from the iPhone 4 to the iPad wireless keyboard. He holds more than 500 design patents and several utility patents. Coster will work on all aspects of design at GoPro, including hardware, software and services. GoPro says that Coster aims to improve the GoPro user experience from end to end. “I’m honored to join the GoPro team,” Coster said in a statement . “This extraordinary company is close to the hearts of so many people around the world. Its brand and products inspire us to capture and share our lives’ most important moments.” His hiring comes at a critical time for GoPro, which is seeing demand flag for its action cameras. To spur sales, the company is expected to launch a quadcopter “flying camera” and 360-degree video cameras. Even with Wednesday’s jump, GoPro stock is down more than 20% in 2016.

Teens Still Crave iPhones, But Not So Much Into iPads, Apple Watch

Apple ‘s ( AAPL ) iPhone remains a sought-after item for U.S. teenagers, but young people are losing interest in iPads and have little interest for now in the Apple Watch. Those are among the findings of Piper Jaffray’s latest semiannual Taking Stock With Teens survey, released late Tuesday. Piper Jaffray surveyed 6,500 teenagers using classroom visits and electronic surveys for its latest report. Of those surveyed, 1,300 teens were in the upper-income group. IPhone ownership among U.S. teens rose to a high of 69% in Piper’s spring survey, vs. 67% in fall 2015. Plus, some 75% of teens expect their next phone to be an iPhone, up from 74% last fall. “Apple maintained steady momentum in iPhone ownership among teens,” Piper analyst Gene Munster said in the investment bank’s research report. “We continue to expect small positive changes in the share numbers for iPhone given purchase intent and the over indexing of teens to the U.S. in total, where we believe iPhone has around 50% share.” The latest Piper survey also found that tablet interest among teens is declining along with the product segment overall. Teen tablet ownership declined for the third consecutive survey to 59% this spring from 61% last fall. Apple iPad share was stable at 64% among tablet owners vs. 65% last fall. In the new category of smartwatches, 12% of teens said they own a smartwatch and Apple Watch represented 71% share of those owners, Munster said. Looking forward, 10% of teens say they are interested in purchasing an Apple Watch compared with 8% last fall, which represents a stabilization in interest after falling the last two surveys. The teen survey reinforced that the Apple brand “remains healthy among the young demographic,” Munster said. He reiterated his overweight rating on Apple stock with a price target of 172. Apple stock rose 1.3% to 110.44 on the stock market today . Looking at other consumer electronics, Fitbit ( FIT ) performed well in the survey, while GoPro ( GPRO ) showed weakness. The U.S. teen survey showed strong intent to purchase fitness trackers. Some 22% of upper-income teens plan to buy a fitness tracker in the next six months vs. 15% last spring, Piper analyst Erinn Murphy said in the report. Fitbit was the No. 1 fitness band at 72% ownership share, up from 53% in the fall. GoPro action cameras declined on teen wish lists, getting less than 1% vote for the first time in two years. Just 0.9% of teens listed GoPro as one of two top birthday gifts.

Fitbit Device Demand Solid; GoPro Weak; Garmin Mixed

Retail checks by Morgan Stanley showed good news for Fitbit ( FIT ), bad news for GoPro ( GPRO ) and mixed news for Garmin ( GRMN ). Fitbit’s new Blaze smart fitness watch and Alta fitness wristband appear to be selling well and could drive upside to Fitbit’s Q1 earnings and Q2 guidance, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said in a research report Monday. “Our checks indicate demand for Blaze and Alta were ahead of expectations, and retailers are already putting in reorders for the Blaze, which shipped earlier than the Alta,” Huberty said. Fitbit reported March 31 that it had shipped more than 1 million units each of the Blaze and Alta within their first month of availability. “We expect management will remain conservative on guidance but still expect Q2 estimates to move higher post-earnings,” she said. Meanwhile, retail checks for GoPro action cameras point to year-over-year declines in sell-through, with retailers still working down channel inventory. “Our conversations suggest enthusiasm for the product category continues to wane, and the upcoming Hero 5 is unlikely to recapture retailer shelf space lost during the recent spring reset,” Huberty said. She is cautious on GoPro’s upcoming quadcopter “flying camera” product, though the market appears to be picking up. Competitors are expected to launch lower-priced drones, hurting sales of GoPro’s premium product. Fitbit rival Garmin is retaining market share in high-end sports watches, but it appears to be losing share in activity trackers, Huberty said. In afternoon trading on the stock market today , Fitbit stock was up 5.5%, above 15, while GoPro was down 3%, near 12, and Garmin stock was up 1.5%, above 40.