Should have bought more GoPro stock

[Volffas]

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from GoPro saying they were going live and would like to have their customers get a shot at their IPO (initial public offering). I have never bought stocks before, but I LOVE their products and thought what could it hurt. I was allowed to ask for any amount of stock up to $10,000. Being cheap and broke, I went with $300. What I didn't realize at the time was that due to demand they would cut me back to only $117 worth of stock.

Regardless, I was happy to purchase $117 worth of stock at the IPO rate of $24/share.

I just looked at the NASDAQ and GoPro (GPRO) is trading for a little over $48 per share! Man I wish I had bought TONS more of that stock!

Anyone else have any similar stories?

 

[Ronnie]

An old coworker of mine just started in gopros legal department 6 months ago. He may be a rich man on paper, today anyway. Many analysts think the stock is currently overvalued by at least 300%. Which follows the the slang definition for ipo, "it's probably over- priced". If their is a sudden market adjustment (e.g. If gopro can't make good on its self designated "media company" status or it takes too long to get there) the stock could tank. I didn't invest in the stock but if I did, I would probably sell the number of shares I'd need to to break even and ride the rest out for a quarter or two.

I know quite a few tech pros that were millionaires on paper, sometimes after an ipo, who ended up with near worthless stock in the long run. As a private investor you can always sell your shares, many employees who got their stock via options also have restrictions on when they can sell their shares.

More on point a friend of mine told me about Viagra when the mds he worked for were starting to test/push it. I told him not to invest in it, that was a mistake.

 

[farrelltravis]

I don't know how long the stock will keep going up, but today alone - as of this afternoon, they are up 20% in one day!

 

[Yamborghini]

You have to look at go pros potential. They already have nearly maxed out what can be done with their form factor. Next they can do 4k video, and then what?

What are gopros 2-5 year goals? 3d mehhh. That's not the big hit every tv and camera company hoped it'd be. It's like the cell phone market, it's just about maxed out. Maybe they have a goal to do something amazing. If so take the chance. But never buy stock in emotions!!!

 

[farrelltravis]

I agree with you @Randall Knapp to a certain point. Where I kinda disagree is the volume of units they could sell in the coming years. Right now, only a small percentage of active sports people have them. If their price point went down over time, I could see where more and more people would have one.

Just my $0.02.

For what it is worth, I probably won't be buying any stock, but seeing their numbers now makes me stop and think. But - they are very young on the stock market. Who knows what a year or two will bring. I think in 10 years, we may not even remember GoPro.

 

[Volffas]

I jinxed it a little bit..... It was up a little over $49 and has went back down to around $46.

I read several articles today all claiming it is way over priced. Like @Ronnie said, I just might sell off 1/2 of the stock and break even and let the rest ride.... But then again it's only 4 shares....

 

[farrelltravis]

I hear you @Volffas

A while back, I bought a sub-penny stock. I bought it for $0.0005 per share. It is now at $0.0001 per share. I laugh at it, but for whatever reason if it ever went to $1.00 per share, then I could afford to buy a GoPro!

 

[96Pirate]

There is a lot of speculation built into this stock...imho

In the '90s I invested a small amount in JDS Uniphase, maker of fiber optic cable. Over a period of 5-7 years or so, the stock increased more than 10 fold. I was lucky enough to cash some out before the crash. It was so overvalued it was bound to come down even without the market correction. Much like a lot of stocks back then.

It was a different time but similar in that I wish I had bought more back then. IMHO...the bigger question is not so much when to buy...but when to sell. But I am no financial adviser so don't listen to me

 

[Ronnie]

Remember "Palm"?

As a consumer when I went shopping I asked the sales people about other action cameras they carry, the answer was generally, "We don't know much about those cameras because and/or therefore they don't sell well, everyone is all about going pro." When I go snowboarding I can't recall seeing anything but gopro cameras on people there. The same is true of the Rage on the River (raft up event) I just went to. It's hard to tell what to do when the public can't get enough of this company's products but analyst are saying its overvalued.