What Happened?
Shares of non-lethal weapons company Byrna (NASDAQ: BYRN) jumped 4.8% in the afternoon session after an analyst at B. Riley maintained a 'Buy' rating and a $46 price target on the stock.
The analyst trimmed the firm's fiscal year 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimate to $0.32 from a previous $0.37. However, investors likely focused on the fact that this revised forecast remains above the consensus Wall Street estimate of $0.28 per share for the year. The maintained 'Buy' rating and significant price objective suggest continued confidence from the firm. Adding to the long-term positive outlook, B. Riley also initiated coverage for fiscal year 2026 with an earnings estimate of $0.47 per share, pointing to expectations of future growth.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $20.67, up 4.9% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Byrna’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 75 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 3 days ago when the stock dropped 5.4% on the news that investors appeared to take profits after a significant rally the previous day. The stock had jumped the previous day after the non-lethal weapons company announced positive results from a new AI-driven advertising campaign. Byrna reported a 50% surge in web traffic and a 31% increase in sales on its website during the first 21 days of August. The company also noted that sessions on its Amazon store grew by 75% compared to the 2025 average. The successful campaign, which reduced customer acquisition costs, drove the stock higher in the prior session. The decline appears to be a technical pullback as traders lock in gains from that news-driven surge, a move potentially amplified by broader market weakness.
Byrna is down 27% since the beginning of the year, and at $20.67 per share, it is trading 39.5% 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 $1,308.
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