The stock price of Fitbit Inc. (NYSE:FIT) declined 18.21% to $24.27 per share today, its lowest closing price since its market debut in June. The shares of the company were negatively impacted by the the increasing competition in the wearable fitness-tracking devices market as noted by Daniel Amir, an analyst at Ladenburg Thalmann & Co.
Apple expected to cannibalize Fitbit’s fitness tracking business
Amir said Fitbit is expected to face more competitors citing the reason that the required technology to develop wearable fitness devices is not innovative. He emphasized that the brand and design is more critical to succeed in this category.
He added that Fitbit is “now competing head to head with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the watch category.” According to him, Apple will cannibalize Fitbit’s wearable fitness-tracking devices business.”
Fitbit launches Blaze smart fitness watch
Today, Fitbit introduced a new smartwatch called “Blaze” during the opening press conference at the 2016 CES event in Las Vegas.
According to the company, Blaze’s battery lasts five days and five nights on a single charge, which is longer than the 18 hours battery life of the Apple Watch. Blaze features a full-color screen and it is compatible with Android, iOS, and Windows smartphones. the device costs $199.95. Fitbit said consumers will now be able to preorder the device. The company is scheduled to launch the device globally in March.
Some analysts were not convinced that Blaze could compete strongly with other smartwatches. S&P Capital IQ analyst Angelo Zino commented that Fitbit should focus on developing products focused on intense wellness and cost less than $100.
“On the plus side, the $199 device has a number of enhanced fitness features and a battery life of up to five days, better than most devices on the market. However, we believe the price point may prove to be too high for a device that will not offer access to third-party apps, unlike other smartwatches,” said Zino.
Other players in the wearable fitness devices market such as Fossil Group Inc (NASDAQ:FOSL) announced that it will launch more than 100 wearable products this year.
Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA) unveiled its connected fitness product portfolio, include a sport band, a wireless headset, and a smart footwear called UA SpeedForm Gemini 2 Record Equipped. The smart footwear costs $150, which will be available at UA.com and specialty stores on February 29.
 declined 18.21% to $24.27 per share today, its lowest closing price since its market debut in June. The shares ){kind=link}