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At the end of February we announced the arrival of the first US recession since 2009 and we predicted that the market will decline by at least 20% in (Recession is Imminent: We Need A Travel Ban NOW). In these volatile markets we scrutinize hedge fund filings to get a reading on which direction each […]

(Bloomberg) — Less than two weeks before the U.S. election, some political campaigns are dealing with an unexpected obstacle on YouTube, the internet’s largest video site: There isn’t enough space to run their ads.Campaigns have flooded YouTube with commercials in search of voters they may not be reaching on television. Yet despite its nearly endless supply of video clips, YouTube has been struggling to place these ads in front of the desired audience.The site has a particular shortage of ad slots in critical swing states, causing prices to double in some instances. This makes political ads more lucrative for Alphabet Inc.’s Google, which owns YouTube. The company saw advertising revenue dip earlier this year and is set to announce its quarterly earnings next week.The situation has sent smaller campaigns scrambling to find advertising opportunities elsewhere. “There’s a crunch,” said Cat Stern, media director for Lockwood Strategy Lab, a digital campaign agency focused on Democratic candidates and progressive advocacy organizations. “All political advertisers are buying in the same states, to similar audiences.” She equated the commercial spree to the online spending binge during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.How to Vote in 2020: Everything You Need to KnowViewership has shot up on YouTube during the pandemic. While commercial advertising remains anemic, there has been a glut of political ads. Many political ad buyers are interested in YouTube’s limited amount of commercials that viewers can’t skip through. They’re also vying for ads that YouTube sells based on reservations, which can be purchased in advance, like television slots, and run against YouTube’s most popular videos.“The reserves tend to be gobbled up by well-funded campaigns,” said Reid Vineis, vice president of digital at Majority Strategies, a Republican political ad firm. He has seen prices for some of these ads double in recent weeks. That has forced some campaigns, particularly small ones, to look at alternative digital video outlets such as Hulu and Roku Inc.Certain states with tight polling in the presidential race and competitive Congressional elections, such as Iowa, are often entirely sold out on YouTube, said Tim Cameron, co-founder of FlexPoint Media, a political consultancy that works with Republican campaigns. That has limited campaigns running ads late in the election cycle. “A lot of late money that’s coming on board — it’s difficult to find anywhere to put it,” said Cameron.At times, YouTube is so inundated with election ads that it has been unable to place as much as three quarters of the amounts campaigns would like to spend on a given day, according to a person familiar with the company’s operations.A YouTube spokeswoman said this figure varies but declined to comment further. The company said that its inventory is popular across all categories, not just politics.The ads influx prompted a “code yellow” on Google’s engineering staff — an internal label that assigns more urgency to projects. Facing pressure to curb misinformation, YouTube has says that it reviews every political ad more closely to meet its policy standards.YouTube remains a popular destination for campaigns despite new restrictions. Google limited targeting in electoral ads late last year after concerns about unchecked political messaging on digital platforms. This kept campaigns from using data from public voter records to reach particular voters.Read More: Trump Ads Will Take Over YouTube’s Election Day HomepageStill, the growth in YouTube’s viewership, especially on TV sets, makes the site appealing to politician campaigns. Political spenders have historically spent less on YouTube and other digital properties than television. For some campaigns this election cycle, the video site is now on par with the major broadcast networks. “You’d really be hard-pressed at this point to find a major U.S. Senate campaign that hasn’t invested six or seven figures,” said Cameron.Google has sold more than $139 million in U.S. political ads in the past month alone, according to the company data. (The company doesn’t disclose video figures.) Campaigns for both President Donald Trump and Former Vice President Joe Biden have spent huge volumes on the site, including the expensive ads atop YouTube’s homepage.“That’s where the eyeballs are going,” said Vineis. “It’s safe to say that YouTube is going to have a very good year.”(Company corrects spokeswoman’s comments in the ninth paragraph of a story published Oct. 22 on YouTube political advertising to say its inventory is popular across all categories.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Netflix reported third-quarter earnings after market close on Tuesday.

While Roku Inc's (NASDAQ: ROKU) TV operating system retains a competitive advantage, concerns over whether a lack of advertising revenue share with TV OEMs is impeding growth seem overdone, according to BofA Securities.The Roku Analyst: Ruplu Bhattacharya maintained a Buy rating on Roku and raised the price target from $227 to $245.The Roku Thesis: Competitive threats to Roku appear overblown, and the company should continue gaining market share as streaming services compete for subscribers, Bhattacharya said in a Friday note. Referring to the company's competitive advantage as a TV OS, the analyst said TV OEMs “understand the benefits of partnering with Roku.”He expects Roku to keep updating its OS with new features and functionality — and TV OEMs to continue benefiting from them.”Roku and TCL understand the need to expand internationally and capture as much share, as quickly as possible,” Bhattacharya said of advertising revenue sharing. “In this endeavor, both companies benefit from partnering with each other. Roku is expanding the number of TV OEMs it partners with.”Referring to concerns around Roku's international expansion, the analyst said the company does not need to succeed in every market to meet Street expectations for active account growth.”We view Brazil, UK and Germany as some key markets which Roku may focus on and gaining share in these markets can go a long way in driving account and revenue growth.” ROKU Price Action: Shares of Roku were down 1.27% at $223.60 at last check Friday.Photo courtesy of Roku. Latest Ratings for ROKU DateFirmActionFromTo Oct 2020KeyBancDowngradesOverweightSector Weight Oct 2020Deutsche BankMaintainsBuy Oct 2020NeedhamMaintainsBuy View More Analyst Ratings for ROKU View the Latest Analyst RatingsSee more from Benzinga * Options Trades For This Crazy Market: Get Benzinga Options to Follow High-Conviction Trade Ideas * Roku's Stock Gets A New Street-High Price Target(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

When GoPro (NASDAQ:GPRO) shared its subscriber count topping above 500,000, investors bought the stock in droves. GoPro stock broke above its 200-day moving average of around $4.00. Technology investors who missed the rally will wonder if they missed a former fad. Source: Larry George II / Shutterstock.com If action cameras are back in vogue, what is GoPro really worth? GoPro Stock Rises from Nowhere GoPro’s HERO9 Black benefited from strong demand, lifting the paid subscriber count to the 500,000 milestone. CEO Nicholas Woodman said, “Thanks to a stellar global launch of HERO9 Black, our paid GoPro subscriber count is ahead of where we expected to be at this time and bodes well for us to exceed our previously-stated target of 600,000 to 700,000 paid subscribers by year-end.”InvestorPlace – Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips 7 Value Stocks To Buy in an Overvalued Market Since most customers are buying the action video camera online, GoPro does not need to pay affiliate marketing fees. Plus, marketing and advertising activity are not necessary to drive demand. And with customers bundling the purchase with a subscription, profit margins will expand. Attractive Subscription Offering GoPro’s monthly subscription gives customers peace of mind, thanks to the “no questions asked” total camera replacement. The service also offers unlimited cloud storage. End-users need not worry about losing camera footage or running out of space on the device. To up-sell, the $4.17 per month subscription includes a 50% discount on the company’s website. And since customers may cancel the subscription at any time, the service is affordable enough for the masses. Strong Growth Rate The Hero 9 and the strong subscription uptake drove a 230% growth in sales on GoPro.com upon launch, compared to the two-week post-launch period last year. If word of mouth for the new product continues, investors should speculate that sales will pick up the pace for the next quarter. Investors are enamored with companies whose subscription growth rates are in triple-digit percent. For example, Fastly (NYSE:FSLY) and Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) posted strong annual recurring revenue and subscriptions, respectively. And although the comparison only scratches the surface, investors care about the user growth more than profits. In the second quarter, GoPro posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of $22.4 million. Gross margins of 31.6% are consistent with past quarters, while revenue and earnings per share are erratic since Q2/2018. The lack of increasing revenue in past quarters suggests that investors must guess if the newest Hero camera will benefit from demand gaining momentum. CEO Woodman said, “We’ve seen demand rebound across all geos and all channels. And while dot com has done really well, as we expected, we’ve also seen a stronger-than-anticipated rebound at retail again in all geos, which is great to see, both for GoPro sales but just in general, to see consumer confidence come back like that. The executive’s opinion is not overly exaggerated. Consumers are not traveling on airplanes as much but are still traveling. Those who are still having adventures, like road trips, will need a rugged camera. By capturing those experiences and sharing them online, GoPro has a moat in the action camera business. Price Target GoPro is off to a good start for the quarter. Sales growth may accelerate into 2021 as more people go on adventures. As the pandemic eases by then, travel will rebound, benefiting GoPro’s business. The average price target on GoPro stock is $5.60 (per Tipranks). Conversely, in a revenue multiples model that compares the company value to similar firms, the stock is worth $6.75 (per finbox). Buying in GoPro shares may ease in the weeks ahead and profit-takers may sell shares. If shares dip, those who missed the big rebound may get the stock at a better price. Disclosure: On the date of publication, Chris Lau did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.  More From InvestorPlace Forget The Election… Pick These Stocks for the Win in 2021 Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG America’s #1 Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner Revolutionary Tech Behind 5G Rollout Is Being Pioneered By This 1 Company The post Why Subscriber Counts Matter for GoPro Stock appeared first on InvestorPlace.