EXCLUSIVE: Detwiler Fenton Says GoPro Doesn't Fit Apple's Long-Term Ecosystem, Skeptical Of Merger Comments

• Shares of GoPro Inc (NASDAQ: GPRO) spiked higher by nearly 4 percent on Tuesday, but are lower by more than 70 percent in 2015.
• Investors and analysts continue to speculate a scenario in which Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) acquires the company given its beaten-up valuation.
• Analysts at Detwiler Fenton played down a potential acquisition, noting that GoPro's cameras is not a fit with Apple's longer-term strategy.

GoPro's stock has lost more than 70 percent of its value since the start of 2015 as the action-camera maker failed to live up to Wall Street's stringent growth expectations and financial metrics.

Related Link: Will GoPro Ever Attract Value Investors?

Nevertheless, GoPro's stock was trading higher by nearly 4 percent on Tuesday as chatter of a potential acquisition by Apple continued to attract investors to the stock. FBR Capital's Daniel Ives was the latest analyst to speculate such a scenario and told MarketWatch that "GoPro would fit like a glove into the Apple product portfolio."

Speaking to Benzinga, analysts at Detwiler Fenton pointed out that Apple is active in acquiring assets in the area of augmented reality, music, audio analysis – and not cameras that a user straps to themselves. The analysts added that the potential addition of GoPro's anticipated line of drones to Apple's ecosystem is nonsensical.

The analysts suggested that while GoPro's products could help accelerate growth, Apple is focused on bringing users into its entire ecosystem. As such, adding GoPro's cameras to the Apple's ecosystem "does not fit" with the company's longer-term strategy.