Last week was a rough week for investors. All of the major stock market indices moved lower, as trade tensions with China continued to intensify. However, there were still more than 550 stocks hitting new highs.
Roku (ROKU +2.87%), GoPro (GPRO 4.11%), and Hilton (HLT +2.79%) are some of the more surprising equities notching high-water marks last week. Let's see how the three stocks are getting it right for investors.
Image source: GoPro.
Roku
The original maker of streaming video devices -- coincidentally founded by the inventor of the DVR -- took out the all-time highs it hit last October this week after posting blowout quarterly results. Roku is transforming itself from being an early player in the now crowded hardware market into the industry leader when it comes to software platforms. Nearly two-thirds of the revenue in last week's financial report came from Roku's operating system that's fueling a growing number of third-party TVs as well as its own gadgetry.
There are now 29.1 million active accounts streaming through Roku's platform, a 40% surge over the past year. Average revenue per user has also soared 27%, as usage is outpacing Roku's account base.
GoPro
Five years ago, the market left this once high-flying maker of wearable action cameras for dead, and even now it trades 93% below the all-time highs it hit five years ago. But success is relative, and GoPro did hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday, after announcing that it was shifting most of its camera production from China to Mexico to skirt its way out from one trade tariff war.
GoPro is starting to move in the right direction. A week earlier, it posted better-than-expected first-quarter results. Revenue rose 20%, and that top-line burst is actually 27% if we set aside its sputtering aerial/drone business. GoPro also boosted its full-year guidance.
With losses narrowing, average selling prices inching higher, and GoPro.com revenue skyrocketing, the stock still isn't anywhere close to where it was five years ago, but its fundamentals are a lot better than they were 12 months ago.
Hilton
This may not seem to be a golden age for hotel chains, as Airbnb has leveled the playing field for property owners, increasing the number of available lodging options. But Hilton is finding a way to grow, and its stock has more than quadrupled since its IPO in late 2013. The big driver last week was the disclosure from Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management that Hilton was one of the two stocks in which the hedge fund manager boosted its positions through the first three months of this year.
Hilton's latest quarter was solid. Average revenue per available room, a popular measuring stick in the lodging industry, continues to inch higher. Hilton also raised its profit guidance for the fiscal year, and it continues to increase the number of rooms in its portfolio, forecasting a 6.5% uptick in net units this year. H
ilton is growing faster than the industry itself, and that's the best way to excel when your niche is being disrupted.
