Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 6,267 Shares of Axon Enterprise, Inc $AXON

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group reduced its stake in Axon by 33.9%, selling 6,267 shares in Q4 and retaining 12,221 shares valued at $6.94 million.
• Axon beat estimates in its latest quarter with EPS of $2.15 vs. $1.60 expected and revenue of $796.72 million (up 38.5% year-over-year).
• Insiders have sold a total of 13,855 shares (~$7.11M) in the past 90 days while institutional investors own 79.08% of the stock; analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $749.63 target.

Merit Financial Group LLC lessened its position in Axon Enterprise, Inc (NASDAQ:AXON - Free Report) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,221 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 6,267 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Axon Enterprise were worth $6,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Axon Enterprise by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,314,164 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,684,217,000 after acquiring an additional 376,904 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in shares of Axon Enterprise by 1,198.7% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,642,578 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $932,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516,099 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Axon Enterprise by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 943,944 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $677,412,000 after acquiring an additional 330,213 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Axon Enterprise by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 838,289 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $476,089,000 after acquiring an additional 156,647 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Axon Enterprise by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 743,926 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $533,871,000 after acquiring an additional 11,726 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axon Enterprise

In other Axon Enterprise news, Director Erika Nardini sold 198 shares of Axon Enterprise stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.58, for a total value of $100,302.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,946 shares in the company, valued at $985,804.68. The trade was a 9.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Isaiah Fields sold 2,000 shares of Axon Enterprise stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $535.01, for a total transaction of $1,070,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 55,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,740,135.88. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 13,855 shares of company stock worth $7,109,828 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Axon Enterprise Stock Performance

Shares of AXON stock opened at $402.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 265.03, a PEG ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $460.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $554.07. Axon Enterprise, Inc has a 52 week low of $339.01 and a 52 week high of $885.91.

Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $796.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $755.29 million. Axon Enterprise had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 2.82%. Axon Enterprise's revenue was up 38.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Axon Enterprise, Inc will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXON. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Axon Enterprise in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird set a $800.00 target price on shares of Axon Enterprise in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $825.00 target price on shares of Axon Enterprise in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Axon Enterprise from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Axon Enterprise from $610.00 to $570.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $749.63.

About Axon Enterprise

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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