Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Axon Enterprise Put Options (NASDAQ:AXON)

Axon Enterprise, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXON) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 3,449 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 45% compared to the typical volume of 2,376 put options.

Axon Enterprise Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ AXON traded down $7.53 during trading on Monday, hitting $784.32. The stock had a trading volume of 155,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 726,151. Axon Enterprise has a 12 month low of $279.02 and a 12 month high of $806.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.63 and a current ratio of 2.96. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $643.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $616.38. The company has a market capitalization of $61.06 billion, a PE ratio of 202.67, a P/E/G ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 1.29.

Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $603.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $585.67 million. Axon Enterprise had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 7.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Axon Enterprise will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael Garnreiter sold 87 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $66,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,736,280. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Patrick W. Smith sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.99, for a total value of $5,409,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,063,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,657,583,622.18. The trade was a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 43,969 shares of company stock valued at $29,909,594. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Axon Enterprise by 75.0% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 56 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Axon Enterprise in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Axon Enterprise by 132.0% in the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of Axon Enterprise during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axon Enterprise during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. 79.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AXON shares. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Axon Enterprise from a “buy” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Axon Enterprise from $726.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Axon Enterprise from $600.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Northcoast Research downgraded Axon Enterprise from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Axon Enterprise from $730.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $699.55.

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.