BlackRock Inc. Boosts Holdings in Axon Enterprise, Inc $AXON

Key Points

• BlackRock increased its Axon Enterprise stake by 4.3% in the second quarter, adding 345,365 shares and bringing its holdings to 8.33 million shares worth approximately $4.67 billion, or 10.34% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 13 Buy ratings and three Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $730.92. Piper Sandler and Morgan Stanley recently raised their targets to $732 and $640, respectively.
• Axon reported quarterly EPS of $1.88 versus expectations of $1.84, while revenue rose 35.3% year over year to $904.39 million. The stock opened at $619.85, but its valuation remains elevated at a P/E ratio of 257.20.

BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Axon Enterprise, Inc (NASDAQ:AXON - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,334,551 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 345,365 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 10.34% of Axon Enterprise worth $4,672,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXON. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Axon Enterprise during the 4th quarter valued at about $480,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Axon Enterprise by 41.1% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,207,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Axon Enterprise by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Axon Enterprise by 40.6% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,932 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,646,000 after buying an additional 2,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Axon Enterprise during the 2nd quarter valued at $284,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AXON shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Axon Enterprise from $724.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Axon Enterprise from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Axon Enterprise in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Axon Enterprise in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Axon Enterprise from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axon Enterprise has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $730.92.

Axon Enterprise Stock Performance

AXON stock opened at $619.85 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $532.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $473.93. Axon Enterprise, Inc has a 12-month low of $339.01 and a 12-month high of $794.29. The firm has a market cap of $50.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 257.20, a P/E/G ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $904.39 million during 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Axon Enterprise, Inc will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axon Enterprise

In other Axon Enterprise news, CEO Patrick W. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $10,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,060,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,530,498,500. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Isaiah Fields sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 52,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,125,200. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,989 shares of company stock valued at $36,016,932. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Axon Enterprise Profile

Axon Enterprise, Inc develops technology and weapons systems for public safety and law enforcement agencies, combining hardware, software and cloud services. The company's hardware portfolio includes conducted energy weapons (commonly known as TASER devices), body-worn cameras and in-car camera systems. Axon pairs these devices with a suite of connected products and accessories designed to capture, store and manage field evidence.

Beyond hardware, Axon operates a subscription-based software platform for digital evidence management, evidence review and records management.

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