Axon Enterprise, Inc $AXON Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Boosts Stake

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management increased its Axon Enterprise stake by 6,204.9% in the third quarter, holding 619,707 shares worth approximately $261.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.08% of the company.
• Axon reported quarterly earnings of $1.88 per share, beating estimates of $1.84, while revenue rose 35.3% year over year to $904.39 million.
• Insiders sold 47,397 shares worth $26.7 million over the past three months, primarily through pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $718.47.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Axon Enterprise, Inc (NASDAQ:AXON - Free Report) by 6,204.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 619,707 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 609,878 shares during the quarter. Axon Enterprise comprises approximately 1.7% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd owned 0.76% of Axon Enterprise worth $261,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in Axon Enterprise by 5,700.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 213,561,844 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $119,724,905,000 after acquiring an additional 209,879,882 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Axon Enterprise by 18,050.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,200,075 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,400,094,000 after purchasing an additional 13,127,348 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Axon Enterprise by 4.3% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,334,551 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,672,432,000 after purchasing an additional 345,365 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Axon Enterprise by 5,022.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,266,589 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,802,719,000 after purchasing an additional 4,183,302 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Axon Enterprise by 8,432.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,537,957 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,983,414,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeffrey Kunins sold 9,605 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $61,266,818.70. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Patrick Smith sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.99, for a total transaction of $5,089,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,118,012 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,587,036,927.88. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 47,397 shares of company stock worth $26,722,984 over the last three months. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Axon Enterprise Stock Performance

Shares of Axon Enterprise stock opened at $383.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $31.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 158.96, a PEG ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 1.44. The firm's 50-day moving average is $497.33 and its 200 day moving average is $474.55. Axon Enterprise, Inc has a 1 year low of $339.01 and a 1 year high of $764.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Axon Enterprise in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Axon Enterprise in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Raymond James Financial set a $675.00 price target on Axon Enterprise in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Axon Enterprise from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Axon Enterprise in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $718.47.

About Axon Enterprise

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.

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