TASER International, Inc. (TASR) is on fire -- putting the heat on option bears and short sellers
TASER International, Inc. (NASDAQ:TASR) is speeding up the charts this morning, after the company
won a patent case against
Digital Ally, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGLY). At last check, TASR has soared 5% to trade at $23.63 -- and has now added 31% since its most recent low of $18.05, tagged on Aug. 24. On the flip side, DGLY has slumped 7% to hover near $7.32, and has lost over half its value in 2015.
Turning to sentiment, the options crowd has been extremely pessimistic toward TASR. During the last 50 sessions at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the equity has racked up a
put/call volume ratio of 0.47 -- just 4 percentage points from a 52-week peak. From a contrarian perspective, an
unwinding of this negativity could result in tailwinds for TASR.
Option traders aren't the only ones blazing a bearish path toward the shares. A lofty 28.5% of TASR's float is
sold short, representing nearly seven days' worth of pent-up buying demand, at typical volumes. In other words, the stock could benefit from short-covering activity.
Shifting our attention away from TASER International, Inc. (NASDAQ:TASR) and toward Digital Ally, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGLY), short sellers have been upping the bearish ante of late. During the most recent reporting period, short interest on DGLY popped 16.4%, and now represents over one-fifth of its total float. This negativity stands in stark contrast to the brokerage crowd, where 100% of analysts have doled out "strong buy" recommendations.