Rathbones Group PLC Purchases 10,152 Shares of Axon Enterprise, Inc (NASDAQ:AXON)

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in Axon Enterprise, Inc by 40.3% during the 1st quarter, now owning 35,349 shares valued at approximately $18.6 million.
• Axon Enterprise reported a 32.6% increase in revenue year-over-year, with an EPS of $2.12 that exceeded analysts' estimates by $0.58.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Strategy Capital LLC and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, have also expanded their holdings in Axon Enterprise, which now has a high institutional ownership of 79.08%.

Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in shares of Axon Enterprise, Inc (NASDAQ:AXON - Free Report) by 40.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,349 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,152 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Axon Enterprise were worth $18,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Axon Enterprise in the 1st quarter worth about $1,110,000. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Axon Enterprise during the first quarter valued at about $438,000. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in Axon Enterprise during the first quarter valued at about $115,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Axon Enterprise by 11.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in Axon Enterprise by 5.1% during the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 940 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 79.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axon Enterprise Price Performance

Shares of AXON stock traded up $4.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $754.24. The company had a trading volume of 583,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 783,867. The company has a quick ratio of 2.71, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock's 50-day moving average is $773.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $670.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 186.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 27.68 and a beta of 1.36. Axon Enterprise, Inc has a 52 week low of $346.71 and a 52 week high of $885.91.

Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $641.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Axon Enterprise's revenue for the quarter was up 32.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Axon Enterprise, Inc will post 5.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axon Enterprise

In other Axon Enterprise news, President Joshua Isner sold 15,919 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $746.26, for a total transaction of $11,879,712.94. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 238,379 shares in the company, valued at $177,892,712.54. This trade represents a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Patrick W. Smith sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $831.29, for a total transaction of $8,312,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,053,982 shares in the company, valued at $2,538,744,696.78. The trade was a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,995 shares of company stock valued at $41,925,130. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AXON shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Axon Enterprise from $726.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Axon Enterprise from $725.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Craig Hallum raised shares of Axon Enterprise from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $900.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Northland Securities set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Axon Enterprise in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $855.00 price target (up from $645.00) on shares of Axon Enterprise in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $837.69.

About Axon Enterprise

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.