MW -- Shares of Taser International closed at a record high Wednesday after the maker of stun guns declared a three-for-one stock split. The stock split is payable Feb. The move will increase Taser's outstanding stock to Amid heightened security awareness and public outcry over shooting deaths, law enforcement and security companies are increasingly opting to use high-voltage slugs that can flatten attackers without causing permanent injury.

Orders have sent profits into the black, and the company's stock is up threefold since mid-October. With members of the founding Smith family and company employees holding on to more than 1 million shares, the price of Taser's 3 million actively traded shares may have been too expensive for some small-scale investors, analysts said.

And large-scale stockholders have encountered difficulty breaking up large blocks of shares to sell in smaller quantities, said Joe Blankenship, an analyst with Source One Capital in Scottsdale.

Though Taser executives had broadly hinted to analysts and investors that the company's board would approve splitting the stock, neither the terms nor timing had been determined until Wednesday's announcement.

The three-for-one split will provide more trading liquidity than some investors had expected, Gish and Blankenship said. Though splits typically make stocks more easily tradable, the short-term boost they provide isn't always sustained or deserved, Gish said. Last year, the Scottsdale, Ariz. Defense Department to send several dozen Taser guns to Iraq.

Taser has mainly pushed sales to military and law enforcement, but at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show last week it displayed a new stun gun it plans to introduce for individual consumers. The improving results and outlook have sent the stock up fold in 12 months, faster than most analysts can revise their price targets.

Taser shares soar on stock-split plans - MarketWatch

The resulting price-earnings ratio of 93 is one of the highest on Wall Street. The stock has also become a darling of short sellers, investors who seek to profit by betting a stock's price will decline. Such investors sell borrowed shares, hoping to repay the lender after buying shares more cheaply. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Service , Privacy Policy , and Cookie Policy.

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Taser's Split Madness -- The Motley Fool

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