IFM Investors Pty Ltd Grows Position in Axon Enterprise, Inc $AXON

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Axon Enterprise, Inc (NASDAQ:AXON) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,042 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 956 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Axon Enterprise were worth $6,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in Axon Enterprise by 1,198.7% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,642,578 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $932,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516,099 shares in the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC bought a new stake in Axon Enterprise during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $846,516,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Axon Enterprise by 326.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,539,738 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $874,463,000 after buying an additional 1,179,038 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Axon Enterprise in the 4th quarter worth approximately $515,764,000. Finally, Sands Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Axon Enterprise by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,609,436 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $914,047,000 after buying an additional 167,095 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.08% of the company’s stock.

Axon Enterprise News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Axon Enterprise this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Axon continues to show strong fundamental momentum, with recent quarterly revenue up 33.7% year over year and earnings topping estimates. Management has also signaled confidence in growth from software, digital evidence, and Dedrone, which supports the bull case. AXON Gains From Strength in Software & Services Unit: Can the Momentum Sustain?
• Positive Sentiment: News that Brown Advisory’s Large-Cap Growth Strategy picked up Axon during a broader sell-off adds another signal of institutional interest in the name. Brown Advisory Large-Cap Growth Strategy Picked Axon Enterprises (AXON) Amid Broader Sell-Off
• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism is also being lifted by speculation that Axon could benefit from expanding public-safety and federal demand, including possible future drone-related applications and larger government procurement. Axon’s Next Big Policing Bet Could Be Nonlethal Drones
• Neutral Sentiment: Axon’s CEO highlighted the company’s long-term mission to replace guns with technology, reinforcing the growth narrative but offering little immediate financial impact. How Axon is replacing guns with tech
• Neutral Sentiment: One recent insider filing showed CEO Patrick Smith sold 10,000 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan; the sale is worth watching but is not necessarily a negative signal by itself. Patrick Smith Sells 10,000 Shares of Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: The Trump/ICE contract controversy has introduced ethics and reputational risk around Axon’s federal business, which could weigh on sentiment if political scrutiny intensifies. Hillary Clinton Escalates Trump Criticism, Cites Reports Linking Stock Purchases to Federal ICE Contract Decisions

Axon Enterprise Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of AXON opened at $597.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $48.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 239.78, a PEG ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 2.27. Axon Enterprise, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $339.01 and a fifty-two week high of $885.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $433.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $481.59.

Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.01. Axon Enterprise had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 3.78%. The company had revenue of $807.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $778.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 33.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Axon Enterprise, Inc will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axon Enterprise

In other news, Director Caitlin Elizabeth Kalinowski sold 564 shares of Axon Enterprise stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.97, for a total value of $270,139.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,739,619.04. The trade was a 13.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CRO Cameron Brooks sold 1,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $621,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 49,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,855,000. This trade represents a 2.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 48,989 shares of company stock valued at $24,090,083. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AXON shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Axon Enterprise from $750.00 to $755.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Axon Enterprise from $570.00 to $440.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Axon Enterprise from $950.00 to $825.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on Axon Enterprise from $682.00 to $523.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Axon Enterprise in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $712.75.

Axon Enterprise Company 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.