Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON) Hits New 12-Month High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Axon Enterprise reached a new 52-week high of $881.88 after reporting quarterly earnings of $2.12 EPS, surpassing expectations of $1.54 EPS.
• Analysts are optimistic, with Bank of America raising its price target to $895, and the average consensus target across analysts now at $806.67.
• Insiders have recently sold shares, with total sales amounting to $25.1 million in the last ninety days, indicating potential concerns among executives.

Axon Enterprise, Inc (NASDAQ:AXON - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $881.88 and last traded at $852.26, with a volume of 324238 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $744.88.

The biotechnology company reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.58. Axon Enterprise had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 6.80%. The company had revenue of $668.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Axon Enterprise's quarterly revenue was up 32.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Axon Enterprise from $730.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $885.00 target price on shares of Axon Enterprise and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $855.00 price objective (up from $645.00) on shares of Axon Enterprise in a research report on Tuesday. Northland Securities set a $800.00 price target on shares of Axon Enterprise in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Axon Enterprise from $726.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $837.69.

Insider Transactions at Axon Enterprise

In other Axon Enterprise news, President Joshua Isner sold 905 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $776.39, for a total value of $702,632.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 268,735 shares in the company, valued at $208,643,166.65. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Garnreiter sold 5,913 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $4,493,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,482,400. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,642 shares of company stock valued at $25,090,528. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axon Enterprise

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AXON. STF Management LP grew its holdings in Axon Enterprise by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. STF Management LP now owns 1,164 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $964,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Axon Enterprise in the second quarter worth $563,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC bought a new stake in Axon Enterprise during the 2nd quarter valued at about $317,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Axon Enterprise by 455.1% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,734 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,747,000 after acquiring an additional 4,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Americana Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Axon Enterprise during the second quarter worth approximately $277,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.08% of the company's stock.

Axon Enterprise Stock Up 0.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $68.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 215.05, a P/E/G ratio of 19.36 and a beta of 1.36. The company's 50 day moving average price is $772.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $663.05.

About Axon Enterprise

Axon Enterprise, Inc develops, manufactures, and sells conducted energy devices (CEDs) under the TASER brand in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Software and Sensors, and TASER. The company also offers hardware and cloud-based software solutions that enable law enforcement to capture, securely store, manage, share, and analyze video and other digital evidence.