MetLife Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Axon Enterprise, Inc $AXON

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC has reduced its holdings in Axon Enterprise, Inc by 1.6%, now owning 21,977 shares valued at approximately $11.56 million.
• In the first quarter, several hedge funds, including Vanguard Group and Westfield Capital Management, increased their stakes in Axon, indicating strong institutional interest, with 79.08% of the stock held by institutional investors.
• Axon Enterprise reported $668.54 million in revenue for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, and the company's EPS of $2.12 beat the consensus estimate by $0.58.

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Axon Enterprise, Inc (NASDAQ:AXON - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,977 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 351 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Axon Enterprise were worth $11,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large 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 $480,000. Hancock Whitney Corp bought a new stake in Axon Enterprise during the 4th quarter valued at $234,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in Axon Enterprise by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,081 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Axon Enterprise during the 4th quarter valued at $149,000. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its position in Axon Enterprise by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 864 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.08% of the company's stock.

Axon Enterprise Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of AXON traded down $34.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $747.29. 583,191 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 697,999. Axon Enterprise, Inc has a 52-week low of $346.71 and a 52-week high of $885.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $772.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $676.59. The firm has a market cap of $58.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 184.52, a P/E/G ratio of 28.25 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 2.71 and a current ratio of 2.95.

Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $641.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 32.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Axon Enterprise has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Axon Enterprise, Inc will post 5.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axon Enterprise

In related news, Director Hadi Partovi purchased 1,358 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $740.00 per share, with a total value of $1,004,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 237,938 shares in the company, valued at $176,074,120. This represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Patrick W. Smith sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $831.29, for a total value of $8,312,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,053,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,538,744,696.78. This represents a 0.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,790 shares of company stock valued at $31,432,171. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AXON shares. Craig Hallum upgraded Axon Enterprise from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $900.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $855.00 price target (up previously from $645.00) on shares of Axon Enterprise in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Axon Enterprise from $725.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Axon Enterprise from $730.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Axon Enterprise in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $837.69.

Axon Enterprise Company Profile

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.