Momentum keeps building for GoPro (GPRO 4.11%) as it claws its way back to growth investor respectability. Shares of the action-camera maker rose 12.3% last week, even though there were no material developments during the week. The shares just continued to move higher following the prior week's 14% surge, after the company announced that it would be landing at the higher end of its initial guidance for the third quarter.
You have to go back a year to find the last time GoPro shareholders were treated to back-to-back weeks of double-digit percentage gains. GoPro stock followed up a 16% gain with a 15% pop in mid-September of last year.
Image source: GoPro.
Moving pictures
Moving on a lack of bullish news during the week is a good thing as the stock hits its highest levels since last November. Momentum is a powerful driver, and there were plenty of things fueling the prior week's advance. The main driver was, again, the gadgetry maker's financial update, pointing out that revenue will land at the high end of the $290 million to $310 million it was initially forecasting. Gross margin -- pegged to clock in between 36% and 38% -- would also hit the high end of those markups.
Everything else took care of itself after that. At least two analysts pushed their price targets higher, and consensus profit targets are inching higher. Wall Street pros now see a small profit of $0.01 a share this year. They were holding out for a small deficit before GoPro's preliminary announcement. Analysts now see a profit of $0.27 a share come 2018, also just ahead of where it was two weeks ago.
Momentum also works wonders in clearing out the naysayers. GoPro short interest was 24.9 million by the end of August, the lowest it's been in more than a year with the stock already heading higher. We don't know if a short squeeze has helped fuel this month's rally, but it wouldn't be a surprise if the next short interest update later this month is even lower.
The prior week's rally took the stock to levels it had last seen in February, and now we're at price points last seen in late 2016. It's going to be a long road back for GoPro, as the stock is trading well short of its post-IPO highs, and the rollout of the Hero6 and its new Fusion spherical camera will have to do a lot of the heavy lifting. However, bullishness is returning to GoPro. These may be small steps, but they are small steps in the right direction.
