It's been a rough year on the charts for
TASER International, Inc. (NASDAQ:TASR). Through Monday's close, the stock was down more than 31% in 2015, woefully underperforming the broader equities market.
As a result, bears have flocked to the stun-gun stock. Short interest accounts for more than 25% of TASR's float, representing 7.1 times the equity's average daily trading volume.
Likewise, options players have been leaning toward bearish bets. The stock's 50-day put/call volume ratio on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) arrives in the 97th percentile of its annual range, marking a near-peak of pessimistically-skewed speculation on TASR.
While the stock's grim price action is certainly deserving of this heavy-handed skepticism, TASR is catching a boost today, as some of the weaker bearish hands stampede for the exits. The company announced that it's negotiating the final details of a contract to outfit the London Metropolitan Police Service with its Axon body-worn cameras, sending TASR shares up 4.6% this morning to trade at $19.08. The possibility of this deal going through also
earned the stock an upgraded analyst rating last week.
The stock's short-squeeze rally could soon run out of steam, though, as TASR peaked today just shy of the round $20 level -- which is also the site of its descending 20-day moving average. Unless TASER International, Inc. (NASDAQ:TASR) can break out above multiple layers of resistance, the majority of the stock's skeptics are likely to remain firmly entrenched for now.