While Fools should generally take the opinion of Wall Street with a grain of salt, it's not a bad idea to take a closer look at particularly stock-shaking analyst upgrades and downgrades -- just in case their reasoning behind the call makes sense.
What: Shares of GoPro Inc (GPRO -3.67%) gained 4% this morning after Piper Jaffray initiated coverage on the high-definition personal camera technologist with a Buy rating.
So what: Along with the bullish call, analyst Sean Naughton planted a price target of $48 on the stock, representing about 16% worth of upside to Friday's close. So while contrarian traders might be turned off by GoPro's post-IPO price strength in recent weeks, Naugthon's call could reflect a sense on Wall Street that its growth prospects give the stock plenty of room to fly.
Now what: According to Piper, GoPro's risk/reward trade-off is rather attractive at this point. "We expect GoPro to maintain its category leadership and margins because it currently, or will, offer a full ecosystem of hardware, software and media," said Naughton. "In our view, GoPro's focus on the total user experience of capturing, managing, sharing and enjoying engaging content coupled with a strong brand gives the company a competitive advantage over other brands, the key to maintaining strong profitability in the highly competitive consumer electronics market." With GoPro shares now trading at a 40-plus forward P/E, however, conservative Fools might want to hold out for a wider margin of safety before buying into those positives.
