TASER (TASR) – One for the Watch List
TASER International, Inc. traded strong on Monday morning, April 20th, following unconfirmed reports of a large order of up to 30K body cameras are to be ordered by London Police. In response to the news, TASR shares jumped over 6 percent in Friday’s pre-market session amid a report that the UK’s London Metropolitan Police (Met) will purchase the companies body cameras. According to the UK edition of The Register, the Metropolitan Police would seek to become “the most transparent police force in the world” with the purchase of up to 30,000 body cameras. Regarding the purchases, the interim chief technology officer at the Met, Stephen Deakin, was quoted as saying, “We are accelerating the procurement process at the request of the Commissioner and Deputy Mayor.” The report suggested that the upfront cost of the body cameras would be offset by “dramatically” cutting the costs associated with compiling evidence for bringing a case to trial.
The news of a large London Police order is quickly followed by fresh reports during Monday’s pre-market session after the announcement that the Ontario Provincial Police had purchased 1000 TASER X2 Smart Weapons. According to TASER, the use of TASER weapons has saved more than 141,000 lives from potential death or serious injury. Alongside the Ontario Police’s order, TASER announced multiple other orders, including orders to the Phoenix Police Department, the King County Sheriff’s Jail in Washington State, and to the Policia De Puerto Rico.
TASER International, Inc. is engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of advanced Electronic Control Devices (ECDs) designed for use in law enforcement, military, corrections, private security and personal defense. From all indication, these major police orders are a positive development for TASER in that trading on Monday’s opening was strong and bullish. This is evident by the fact that TASER had opened at 29.01 and quickly established a new day high of 29.80 to top the previous 52 week high of 29.63. Market capitalization was at 1.69 billion and over 53 million shares traded hands during Monday morning trading. Earlier this month, TASER announced that the City of London Police Department purchased 178 AXON body worn video cameras, leading the stock to gain more than 9 percent in one day.
