What Happened?
Shares of non-lethal weapons company Byrna (NASDAQ: BYRN) fell 4% in the afternoon session after competitor Wrap Technologies (WRAP) announced the launch of its DFR-X drone interdiction system, a new non-lethal response tool for law enforcement. Wrap's new system was designed to transform standard drones from simple observation tools into active intervention devices by using its BolaWrap tether technology. This product marked Wrap's first entry into the unmanned aerial systems market for law enforcement. The announcement appeared to create concerns among Byrna investors about new competition in the non-lethal public safety sector, an area where both companies operate. The introduction of a new, innovative product by a rival likely weighed on Byrna's stock.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Byrna’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 68 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 8 days ago when the stock gained 17.8% on the news that it reported third-quarter results that significantly beat Wall Street's profit expectations. The company's revenue grew 35.1% year-over-year to $28.18 million, meeting analyst forecasts. The major highlight for investors, however, was profitability. Byrna posted earnings per share of $0.09, easily surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.06 and more than doubling the $0.04 earned in the same period last year. The company's operational efficiency also showed marked improvement, with its operating margin expanding to 10.2%, a significant increase from 4% in the prior-year quarter. This strong bottom-line performance drove positive investor sentiment.
Byrna is down 24.2% since the beginning of the year, and at $21.48 per share, it is trading 37.2% below its 52-week high of $34.19 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Byrna’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,395.
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