Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Axon Enterprise from $440.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Axon Enterprise from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Axon Enterprise in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Axon Enterprise from $523.00 to $688.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Axon Enterprise from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 26th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.38.

Axon Enterprise Stock Up 1.8%

Axon Enterprise stock opened at $424.18 on Tuesday. Axon Enterprise has a fifty-two week low of $339.01 and a fifty-two week high of $665.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 176.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.92 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $451.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $478.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.15.

Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.04. Axon Enterprise had a return on equity of 2.84% and a net margin of 6.19%. The business had revenue of $904.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $876.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 35.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Axon Enterprise will post 2.10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Patrick Smith sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.99, for a total value of $5,089,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,118,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,587,036,927.88. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeffrey Kunins sold 9,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.70, for a total value of $6,019,453.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 97,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,266,818.70. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 47,397 shares of company stock worth $26,722,984. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Axon Enterprise

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M & L Capital Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Axon Enterprise during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Axon Enterprise in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. acquired a new position in Axon Enterprise in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Axon Enterprise in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Axon Enterprise by 1,300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 70 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.08% of the company’s stock.

Axon Enterprise Company Profile

Axon Enterprise, Inc develops technology and connected products for public safety organizations. The company’s portfolio includes TASER conducted-energy weapons, body-worn cameras, in-car cameras, and related hardware designed to support law enforcement, corrections, security, and other emergency-response professionals.

Axon also provides cloud-based software for managing digital evidence, records, workflows, real-time operations, investigations, and communications. Its platform is intended to connect hardware, software, and services across the public-safety ecosystem, helping agencies collect, store, analyze, and share operational information.

The company was founded in 1993 as TASER International by Rick Smith and Tom Smith and adopted the name Axon Enterprise in 2017 as it expanded beyond conducted-energy weapons into a broader technology platform.