Shares of GoPro rocketed 16% on Thursday after the second analyst in three months floated GoPro as a potential acquisition target for Apple.

Buying GoPro GPRO, -1.20% , whose stock has fallen 45% over the last few months amid record-high levels of short interest, would “make sense” for Apple AAPL, -4.19% , said FBR & Co. analyst Dan Ives in a note to clients Thursday, particularly as it works to build its software ecosystem amid saturation in global smartphone sales.

“We believe GoPro would fit like a glove into the Apple product portfolio,” Ives said in an email to MarketWatch.

This is the second analyst to float such an idea over the last three months. In September, Northland Capital analyst Gus Richard said the wearable camera maker would make a “compelling acquisition target” for Apple from a hardware, software and content perspective.

As of Wednesday’s close, shares of GoPro were down 82% from their all-time high of $93.85 reached on October 7, 2014. Half of that value has been lost since August, with short interest on the stock, or a bet by investors that the stock will fall, reaching record highs in November.

Also See: Footage of GoPro’s new drone, Karma

GoPro’s stock fell below its IPO price of $24 for the first time on Nov. 12, and some analysts have expressed concerns over the health of GoPro sales this holiday, with their checks pointing to an unusually high level of discounting on GoPro Hero cameras versus other electronics.

In GoPro’s most recent quarter, the company reported revenue of $400.3 million, sharply below Wall Street expectations of $433.4 million, according to FactSet. The company also gave a disappointing outlook for sales and earnings per share for the fourth quarter. Last week, GoPro’s stock took another hit following a bleak outlook from key supplier Ambarella Inc. AMBA, -3.12%

On Thursday, the stock rallied as much as 16% to $19.56 in afternoon trade, pushing GoPro’s market capitalization to $2.6 billion. To give some perspective, Apple in its most recent quarter had $203 billion in cash equivalents, which includes cash, short-term securities and long-term marketable securities. Shares of Apple were up 1% to $116.75 in recent trade.

GoPro’s hardware—notably its line of action cameras and drones -- as well as software—such as editing software and virtual reality software, acquired through its recent acquisitions of Spherical and Kolor—might give Apple a leg up in areas where competitors are also investing heavily.

Also See: GoPro is building a media empire

These areas include virtual reality, where Apple would be “playing catch-up” to companies like Facebook Inc. FB, -2.24% with its Oculus product and Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -3.29% with HoloLens, Ives said. It would also include hardware advancements in areas such as camera technology and drones, with GoPro releasing footage earlier of this week of its first drone, Karma, set to go on sale early in 2016.

The integration of the two would also allow for more synergies in the editing component of both companies’ video-editing software, such as enabling GoPro videos to be more easily meshed with music and other digital content from iTunes.

GoPro’s action cameras are already integrated heavily with Apple’s iOS ecosystem, notably the iPhone and Apple Watch. GoPro doubled down on Apple again on Thursday by announcing new features for the watch app that let users preview shots, toggle between capture modes, start and stop recording and add HiLight Tags, or digital bookmarks, from their wrist.

The content produced by GoPro’s amateur and professional users might also integrate well with Apple TV, Ives said. The company has been working to expand its array of live content with its January acquisition of Vislink, which offers technology that enables professional athletes to live stream footage from their Hero cameras for real-time broadcasting.

Earlier this week, GoPro launched a channel on Amazon.com Inc.’s Fire TV AMZN, -4.12% to deliver on-demand GoPro videos, though it does not have a designated channel for Apple TV.

“In our opinion, Cook & Co. need to make an aggressive move in this area in 2016,” Ives said.

Neither Apple nor GoPro immediately responded to requests for comments from MarketWatch.