Dear Mr. Berko: GoPro looks like fun. Our neighbor’s son showed us photos of his skiing trip, and some of the video looked fantastic. He says GoPro is the latest trend, and our 32-year-old son and his wife may buy a GoPro device. What can you tell us about the stock? I’ll buy 2,000 shares or so at $4.91 if you think it’s a good deal.
— NE, Vancouver
Dear NE: When you’re part of a group photo and someone shows you a color print, whose face do you look for first? Yours, of course! Americans have much higher levels of self-importance than those in any other nation — rightfully so. Resultantly, we’re more self-centered than citizens of other countries. And surfer/businessman Nick Woodman, founder of GoPro, realized that he, like many Americans, would go blithely bonkers if he could view video of himself ski jumping, off-road motorcycle racing, parachuting, bungee jumping and doing other extreme activities. Americans are narcissistic, and Woodman designed a product that reciprocates. GoPro!
GoPro (GPRO-$4.91) came public in the summer of 2014. Almost 9 million shares were sold to IPO-crazed investors at $24 by J.P. Morgan, Citigroup and Barclays. Within a few days, the stock had been hyped to $98 a share in a buying frenzy of stupids who thought they were acquiring gold at a discount. During the next 18 months, GPRO collapsed by over 90 points as speculators realized that what looked like gold was iron pyrite.
GPRO has more cameras and accessories to choose from than my grandmother has tattoos. Its versatile selection allows users to capture immersive and engaging footage of themselves participating in adventurous and adulterous activities. One of those numerous GPRO cameras, depending upon your level of sophistication, can cost between $160 and well over $1,000. And that’s without the extensive mounts and accessories that can ratchet up the cost of your device. GPRO’s unique HERO5, HERO6 and HERO7 cameras are cloud-connected devices with cloud-based storage solutions. They can be loaded with numerous apps that allow for livestreaming and voice control, and users can store, preview, edit and share content.
