GoPro stock shares surged 16 percent on December 10, Thursday, after a second prominent Wall Street analyst during the past few months suggested a buyout of the action camera company by Apple Inc. FBR & Co. analyst Dan Ives argued that Apple's acquisition would "make sense" as GoPro stocks have nose-dived 45 percent during the last couple of months as it develops a software ecosystem. An Apple buyout would help the tech giant to compete better in areas such as camera tech, virtual reality, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), as GoPro just released video footage of its first drone named "Karma," which is scheduled for an early 2016 release.
Ives stated in a note to FBR & Co. clients that Apple's purchase of GoPro would be wise. It said it would fit into Apple's product portfolio "like a glove," according to MarketWatch.
In addition, Futuresource Consulting reported earlier this year that the global action camera market's year-on-year sales figures shot up 44 percent in 2014. It projected continued growth up to and past 2019.
Another big driver that boosted GoPro stock prices was the company's publishing of a blog post and YouTube video that featured its first drone named Karma, according to The Verge. The company is entering the burgeoning consumer drone market that is led by the $1 billion-valued company DJI.
GoPro has provided few details about the Karma drone, except for a little test footage. However, much more information will likely be released in early 2016.
Another recent well-known analyst to suggest Apple's acquisition of GoPro was Northland Capital analyst Gus Richard. In terms of issues such as hardware and software, he called the possible buyout "compelling."
The second recent buyout recommendation and drone news came at the best time. At the close of trading on Wednesday GoPro's stocks had dropped 82 percent since its all-time high of $93.85 on Oct. 7, 2014.
Some analysts have expressed doubts about GoPro's sales figures for this holiday season. One sign has been the high-level of price cuts on GoPro's Hero digital action cameras.