Investors bid up shares in body cameras, Tasers, Mace
Investors have grown grimly accustomed in recent years to seeing gun stocks soar in the wake of mass shootings, but last week's ambush in Dallas that left five cops dead sparked intense investor interest in the growing markets for body cameras, electroshock weapons, pepper spray and other crowd-control gear.
Axon, one of the primary suppliers of body-worn cameras used by law enforcement, is a division of Taser International (TASR), a company that also makes electroshock weapons.
Shares of Taser, which jumped nearly 6 percent Friday following news of the Dallas carnage and were up another 4 percent mid-day Monday, have nearly doubled in value since the start of the year.
Digital Ally (DGLY), another maker of body cameras for police and law-enforcement officers, fell 10 percent on Monday, reclaiming a portion of its 60-plus percent surge on Friday.
Mace (MACE), the personal-security company known for its pepper spray, also rose more than 4 percent on Monday.
Gunmakers, all of which have all delivered large returns after mass shootings -- including the deaths of 50 people in Orlando last month -- continued that pattern after Dallas.
On Monday, Smith & Wesson Holding (SWHC) gained nearly 2 percent to $29.55, not far from its all-time high of $30.44 set earlier this year. The gunmaker last month reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $35.6 million.
Sturm Ruger (RGR) at midday was up nearly 3 percent and Vista Outdoor (VSTO) gained 0.5 percent.