Two Gun Manufacturers’ Stock Prices Doubled in 2015 Amid Intensifying Climate of Fear

The Dow Jones industrial average registered its first annual decline since 2008 as trading ended for 2015. But the stock market value of the two largest market-listed gun manufacturers — Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co. — doubled during the year.

The Guardian reports:

Over the year Smith & Wesson rose from $9.47 to $21.98. Sturm, Ruger and Company rose from $34.63 to $59.61. It’s not just 2015 that has been good for gun stocks. Over the past five years, stocks of Smith & Wesson increased in value sixfold while stocks of Sturm, Ruger and Company quadrupled in value.

By comparison, Apple stock remained almost unchanged over the past year and only doubled in value over the past five years, reaching about $105 a share this year compared with $46 in 2010. […]

While many would attribute the spike in demand for guns to a renewed push for gun control, analysts say there is more to the current market dynamic than that. The main reason why people are buying guns is fear and a desire to be able to defend themselves, they say.

“I think many people in the media are wrong about why there has been a surge in firearms purchases in recent weeks. The news articles are mostly attributing it to fears that new gun laws will be passed and that consumers are making purchases while it is legal. I believe that this occurred after Newtown, but that this time people are making purchases because they feel the need to defend themselves,” said [Chris Krueger, a senior research analyst with Lake Street Capital Markets]. “I have had multiple conversations with gun buyers and this has been the consistent message. None seem too concerned about new laws.”

Fear – especially of Muslims and of African Americans [sic] protesters – is contributing to the demand in the market, Brian Ruttenbur, an analyst with financial services firm BB&T, told the Guardian earlier this month.

Read more here.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.