Street Watching GoPro, LinkedIn & GM Over Rest Of Week

By Sarah Roden

It's a jam-packed week for earnings. Here is what analysts need to know ahead of reports from GoPro Inc GPRO, LinkedIn Corp LNKD, and General Motors Company GM, all of which are reporting in the second half of the week.

Read Wall Street's Week Ahead Part 1, here, to see what's ahead for other companies reporting this week including Gilead, Yahoo, Chipotle and Alphabet.

GoPro Inc

GoPro will release 4Q15 earnings on Wednesday, February 3 after market close. Shares of the action camera company plunged nearly 30% two weeks ago after the company announced disappointing preliminary earnings figures, estimating quarterly revenue of $435 million, marking a 31% y/y decrease. Before this update, the analyst consensus for Q4 revenue was $512 million. To add insult to injury, the company announced it is cutting 7% of its workforce.

GoPro attributes the sluggish quarter to excess inventory and the disappointing Hero4 Session launch. The new product did not fly off the shelves as expected, which management attributed to its high price point and a diluted marketing effort. Many analysts also highlight that the product was released in September when it would have thrived if released over the holiday season.

With such low expectations, analysts believe that GoPro may beat estimates. However, analysts are looking for strong guidance to demonstrate that GoPro is not a one-product wonder, as many are beginning to fear. The company is now trading below its IPO price and hovering above its 52-week low of $9.90.

Analysts polled by TipRanks in the last 3 months have varying views on the stock: 7 are bullish, 2 are bearish, and 8 remain neutral. The average 12-month price target between these 17 analysts is $15.59, marking a 36% potential upside from where shares last closed.

LinkedIn Corp

The professional social networking website will post 4Q15 earnings on Thursday, February 4 after market close. Analysts expect the company to post quarterly earnings per share of $0.78 on revenue of $857 million, compared to the same quarter of last year in which the company posted EPS of $0.61 on revenue of $643 million.

Analysts will be looking for increasing subscriber growth. LinkedIn has been compared to Facebook in the past as both platforms have successfully grown their user base, but LinkedIn is different in that it has a paid platform. Additionally, LinkedIn has been able to rapidly grow revenue since going public. Analysts will be looking for this pattern to continue from advertising revenue and subscriber fees.

According to TipRanks, 4 analysts are bullish on LinkedIn while 1 remains on the sidelines. The average 12-month price target between these 5 analysts is $265, marking a 34% potential upside from current levels.

General Motors Company

The largest U.S. car manufacturer will announce 4Q15 earnings on Wednesday morning. Analysts expect the company to post EPS of $1.22 and revenue of 38 billion, compared to the same quarter of last year in which the company posted EPS of $0.66 on revenue of $39.6 billion.

Analysts are upbeat heading into earnings as GM recently reported its third year of record global sales. For 2015, the company reported global sales of 9.8 million vehicles, highlighting a 6% growth in US sales and a 5% growth in Chinese sales. Furthermore, GM made headlines last month when it announced a $500 million investment in Lyft in an effort to develop self-driving cars.

According to TipRanks, 2 analysts are bullish on GM while 2 remain neutral. The average 12-month price target between these 4 analysts is $34, marking a 15% potential upside from current levels.