Axon Enterprise, Inc $AXON Stock Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management dramatically increased its Axon stake by 5,022.8% in the third quarter, acquiring 4.18 million additional shares. It now owns 4.27 million shares, representing about 5.25% of Axon and a position valued at approximately $1.8 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with one Strong Buy, 14 Buy and two Hold ratings. Axon has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $718.47.
• Axon reported quarterly EPS of $1.88 versus the $1.84 estimate, while revenue rose 35.3% year over year to $904.39 million. However, insiders sold nearly $26.7 million of stock over the past 90 days, and the shares trade at a high forward valuation, with a P/E ratio of 173.11.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Axon Enterprise, Inc (NASDAQ:AXON - Free Report) by 5,022.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,266,589 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,183,302 shares during the quarter. Axon Enterprise comprises about 1.3% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 5.25% of Axon Enterprise worth $1,802,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXON. Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Axon Enterprise by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Keel Point LLC raised its stake in shares of Axon Enterprise by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 599 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Axon Enterprise by 4.4% during the second quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 616 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its position in Axon Enterprise by 2.4% during the first quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 1,278 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Axon Enterprise by 6.0% during the first quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 79.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AXON shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Axon Enterprise in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Axon Enterprise in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Axon Enterprise from $724.00 to $732.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Argus raised their price objective on Axon Enterprise from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $675.00 price objective on Axon Enterprise in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $718.47.

Insider Transactions at Axon Enterprise

In related news, President Joshua Isner sold 16,775 shares of Axon Enterprise stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.43, for a total transaction of $9,636,063.25. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 296,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at $170,590,774.82. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Patrick Smith sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.99, for a total value of $5,089,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,118,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,587,036,927.88. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,397 shares of company stock valued at $26,722,984. 4.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Axon Enterprise Stock Up 2.1%

AXON stock opened at $417.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Axon Enterprise, Inc has a 52 week low of $339.01 and a 52 week high of $764.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.89 billion, a PE ratio of 173.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $505.21 and a 200 day moving average of $475.02.

Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $904.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $876.42 million. Axon Enterprise had a return on equity of 2.84% and a net margin of 6.19%. The firm's revenue was up 35.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Axon Enterprise, Inc will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Axon Enterprise Company Profile

Axon Enterprise, Inc develops technology and connected systems for public safety and law enforcement agencies. Its product portfolio includes TASER conducted energy weapons, body-worn cameras, in-car cameras and other recording devices designed to support safer interactions, improve accountability and document incidents.

The company also provides cloud-based software for managing digital evidence, reports, records and agency operations. Its Axon platform connects hardware with services such as evidence management, real-time operations, computer-aided dispatch and other workflow tools, enabling agencies to store, organize and share information across their organizations.

Founded in 1993 as AIR TASER by Rick Smith and Tom Smith, the company later operated as TASER International before adopting the name Axon Enterprise in 2017.

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