Tag Archives: grmn

GoPro Investors Swim With The Sharks Ahead Of Q1 Earnings

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

Fitbit Beats Q1 Targets, But Disappoints On Q2 EPS Outlook

Fitbit ( FIT ) late Wednesday smashed Wall Street’s targets for the first quarter, but delivered mixed guidance for the current quarter that disappointed investors. Fitbit stock plunged as much as nearly 12% in after-hours trading following the earnings news release. In Wednesday’s regular session, Fitbit stock dipped a fraction, to 17.10. Fitbit made its IPO last June, pricing shares at 20. The maker of wearable fitness devices earned 10 cents a share excluding items on sales of $505.4 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected 3 cents and $444.3 million. On a year-over-year basis, Q1 sales rose 50%. But that’s down from 92% growth in Q4, 168% in Q3 and 253% in Q2. Q1 earnings per share dropped 63% from 27 cents in the year-earlier period. For the current quarter, Fitbit is projecting earnings per share of 8 to 11 cents excluding items on sales of $565 million to $585 million, or $575 million at the midpoint. Wall Street had been modeling for Fitbit to earn 26 cents a share, up 24%, on sales of $531.3 million, up 33%. For the year, Fitbit expects non-GAAP EPS of $1.12 to $1.24 on sales of $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion. Analysts on average were looking for 2016 EPS of $1.13 on sales of $2.46 billion. Fitbit competes in the health-and-fitness wearables market with Apple ( AAPL ), Garmin ( GRMN ), Microsoft ( MSFT ), Under Armour ( UA ) and others. Last week, Fitbit announced a distribution deal Chinese e-commerce website Tmall.com , a unit of Alibaba Group ( BABA ), that could bolster its prospects in China.

Fitbit Q1 Earnings Preview: What You Need To Know

Fitbit ( FIT ) is due for a health checkup late Wednesday and the prognosis for its first-quarter earnings report is looking favorable. But investors got the jitters on the eve of the company’s Q1 report. Fitbit stock fell 6.5% to 17.18 in heavy volume on the stock market today . Fitbit stock has tumbled more than 40% this year as competition has risen and the pace of growth has slowed. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the maker of wearable fitness devices to earn 2 cents a share excluding items on sales of $443.1 million. On a year-over-year basis, sales would be up 32% if it meets the consensus forecast. That would be down from 92% growth in Q4, 168% in Q3 and 253% in Q2. Fitbit made its IPO last June, pricing shares at 20. For the current quarter, Wall Street is modeling for Fitbit to earn 26 cents a share, up 24%, on sales of $532.8 million, up 33%. Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brad Erickson on Monday reiterated his sector weight, or hold, rating on Fitbit stock. Erickson expects a “beat-and-raise” quarter from Fitbit, but is cautious based on “longer-term views of poor category user trends, a lack of sensor differentiation and a more limited total addressable market.” In the near term, demand appears relatively healthy for the Fitbit Blaze smart fitness watch and the Alta activity tracker, he said. Fitbit also has stocked the retail channel with Charge HR devices for Mother’s Day sales, he said in a research report. Piper Jaffray analyst Erinn Murphy maintained her neutral rating on Fitbit with a price target of 16. “While data points during the quarter have been positive, with strong Amazon ( AMZN ) trends for the newly launched Alta and Blaze models, we remain on the sidelines behind the second-half weighted earnings (we estimate 70% of earnings lie in 2H) and given the tougher product launch comparisons in 2H,” she said in a report Monday. Mizuho Securities analyst Betty Chen kept her buy rating and price target of 20 on Fitbit stock in a report Monday. “Our recent survey highlights increases in Fitbit ownership as well as planned purchase intent at higher average selling prices,” she said. “Moreover, data indicates increased upgrade intent and attachment rate, with 21% of Fitbit device buyers purchasing at least one additional wristband in the last three months. We believe this bodes well for Fitbit’s long-term growth and margin profile.” Last week, diversified rival Garmin ( GRMN ) said its sales of wearable fitness devices rose 9% year over year in Q1, to $142.4 million, but profit margins declined because of intense competition in the category. Garmin also makes GPS navigation devices for automotive, aviation, marine and outdoor markets. In addition to Fitbit and Garmin, other companies competing in the health-and-fitness wearables sector include Apple ( AAPL ), Jawbone, Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Under Armour ( UA ). RELATED: Fitbit Bolsters China Prospects With E-Commerce Deal