Oppenheimer bullish on GoPro after HERO7 launches

GoPro (GPRO) has a new growth strategy and Oppenheimer seems optimistic about it. An analyst at the firm has changed the stock’s rating from Perform to Outperform and has set the price target at $9. GoPro unveiled three new products last week, which helped build the firm’s confidence in the company and its new strategy.

Oppenheimer pointed out that the company has reduced its operating expenses significantly. By launching new products which are easy to use, reducing inventory and eliminating the unsuccessful elements from its business, the firm believes GoPro is on track to achieve growth in 2019.

Last week, GoPro launched the HERO7 camera in three models – Black, Silver and White. HERO7 Black, the flagship model priced at $399, comes with similar traits as its antecedent Hero 6 but with the addition of an innovative video stabilization feature called HyperSmooth Stabilization.

Oppenheimer believes GoPro is on track to achieve growth in 2019

The HERO7 Silver and White models come with fewer features than the HERO7 Black, do not have HyperSmooth Stabilization and are priced at $299 and $199, respectively.

GoPro CEO Nick Woodman told The Verge that the company plans to sell only the three Hero 2018 models for the time being and is also considering the removal of certain accessories like handheld stabilizers.

GoPro aims to reach out to the social media-savvy young generation with these novel features and Woodman believes the company will be able to achieve profitability this year. GoPro had struggled earlier in 2018 after problems with its Karma drone forced it to shut down the operation and lay off 20% of its workforce. There were also speculations that the company could be acquired.

The stock soared 10% earlier in the day following the upgrade and is now trading over 6% at $7.07 as of 3:20 pm ET.