Heavy Insider Buying at 3 Recovering Companies

TASER International Inc. (NASDAQ:TASR) saw one member of its Board of Directors purchase two sizable blocks of shares this week. Director Hadi Partovi purchased 100,000 shares on Monday at a weighted average cost of $19.85 and currently holds an ownership stake of 267,406 shares. The Director had been profitably buying his company’s shares over the past several years until mid-July 2015, when TASER’s shares plummeted. Mr. Partovi acquired 20,000 shares at $25.75 apiece after the stock plunged in the summer of 2015 and continues to show his confidence in the stock despite further struggles since then.

TASER International is a leading manufacturer and marketer of conducted electrical weapons (CEWs) and connected wearable on-officer cameras, primarily serving federal, state and local law enforcement in the United States and worldwide. The company has been growing at a solid pace over the past several years, if solely relying on its top-line figures. TASER generated net sales of $197.89 million during 2015, which increased from $164.53 million in 2014, $137.83 million in 2013, and $114.75 million in 2012. The demand for the company’s Axon video products increased significantly last year, as evidenced by its net sales figures. Net sales for the Axon segment reached $35.52 million for 2015, which marked an increase of 87.8% year-over-year. This increase was mainly driven by the company’s actions aimed at increasing bookings and brand awareness for Evidence.com and Axon cameras. Evidence.com is a cloud-based system that enables agencies to store all data from the company’s body-worn cameras, as well as allows workflows for managing and sharing the data. TASER International increased its Axon sales team from 16 at the end of 2014 to 27 full-time salespeople at the end of 2015, and this move has paid off quite handsomely.

The shares of TASER are down by nearly 20% over the past 12 months despite having gained 11% since the beginning of 2016. The number of hedge funds in our system with stakes in the company declined to ten from 15 during the December quarter. Marc Majzner’s Clearline Capital acquired a new stake of 520,299 shares in TASER International Inc. (NASDAQ:TASR) during the fourth quarter.