TASR -- in house research on 2004/02/04, updated on 2004/02/09
TASR is priced high. 52 week low is 3.65 and 52 week high is
154. Its price at 2004/02/04 close is 122, still more than 3300% gain in 1 year.
The price is high for 2 reasons.
1 Growth is huge, and product is great
2
Short squeeze
Now let's look at those 2 reasons and find out if they can
really support its price at 122.
Analyzing case 1, growth is huge, and product is
great
TASER International, Inc. develops, assembles and markets less-lethal,
conducted energy weapons primarily for use in the law enforcement and
corrections market. The Company's weapons use compressed nitrogen to shoot two
small, electrified probes up to a maximum distance of 21 feet. The argument
investors have is if police is using stun guns then nobody will be unnecessarily
hurt. It protects the images of police, and police department all over the
country will use it. However, on 2004/04/03, per the interview on CNBC,
Fraternal Order of Police does not recommend Taser for every officer, because it
has limited application. Tasers are limited in their use and are appropriate
only in certain non-lethal circumstances. They will be carried by only a small
minority of police officers. They will never replace service firearms which will
always be the primary component of police protection. Because of its failure
rate it is dangerous for officers to rely on it without risking their own lives.
These two examples could have lead to police officer's deaths:
(Morris tried
to stun him with a Taser. The probes did not come in contact with Manuel-Lopez's
skin. For a Taser to effectively stun someone, both probes must come within a
quarter-inch of the person's skin, creating a circuit for the five-second,
50,000-volt electrical charge.)
www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0124COPSHOOTFOLO.html
(During
Lewandowski's struggle with Eggleton and deputies Jennifer Amerson and Christina
Sudduth, taser shots "had little or no effect on him," the report stated.)
www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/news/012304/Local/ST003.shtml
The most recent news on TASR guns came on 2004/02/08,
The complete story is copied from newspaper Star Tribue
Start of Reprint
Man suffers heart attack after being subdued by Minneapolis
police
Tim Harlow, Star Tribune
Published February 8,
2004
A 39-year-old man who suffered cardiac arrest
shortly after Minneapolis police used an electronic stun gun to subdue him
Friday night was in critical condition Saturday at Hennepin County Medical
Center.
Police were called to a group home on the 1200 block of S. 9th
St. about 5:45 p.m. Friday after staffers reported that the man was behaving
violently and threatening the safety of other residents.
"The staff could not control him," said Roseann Campagnoli,
spokeswoman for the Hennepin County sheriff's office. "He was physically
violent, but no weapons were involved."
A team from the Minneapolis Department's Critical Incident
Team, which is trained to deal with incidents involving people suffering from
mental illness, were the first responders. They called in officers from the
Minneapolis Police Department and the Metropolitan Transit Police to
help.
Officers from the Critical Incident Team were unable to
restrain the man and finally used a Taser to bring him under control. A Taser is
a stun gun that incapacitates suspects by jolting them with several watts of
electricity.
As officers prepared to take the man out of the Andrews
Residence, he went into cardiac arrest, Campagnoli said. He was taken to the
hospital by ambulance.
Minneapolis police have used Tasers since 2000. In St. Paul,
police are being trained to use them and some officers began carrying the stun
guns this month.
The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office is investigating. The
officers who used the Taser have been placed on administrative leave, which is
standard procedure. Their names have not been released.
End of Reprint
Another report from the same area showed that STUN GUNS
CAN NOT SAVE LIVES:
Officer named in St. Paul shooting identified;
actions deemed appropriate
Tim Harlow
Several St. Paul police officers
recently were trained to use Tasers to minimize the chance of having to use
deadly force. Schnell said that in this situation, a stun gun would not have
changed the outcome.
Published Jan 25, 2004
That is the reason why 24% of the all police department in USA
are testing TASR products and only 5% are buying their products.
Also, TASR's products are priced at $1000 a piece, which is
more expensive than a regular gun. TASR gun are stun guns. They are cheap to
make. That is why TASR's profit margin is 60%+. Many competitors are entering
this market. Price will drop. Stun guns are extremely easy to make. There
is no technical barrier. China can make and sell them for less than $100.
The company TASR said in their most recent conference call on
2004/02/03, they have expected international orders and they are marketing their
products to Iraq. However, they have not receive any international order in
2004, that is a 100% drop from 2003. Criminals in Iraq use military grade
firearms. Will any Iraqi police or American soldier fight with them with a stun
gun?
Based above reasons, we don't think TASR will have its current
growth rate.
Analyzing Case 2, Short squeeze
Based on yahoo finance,
this company has 3.2M shares. 2.2M is float. Shorts are 1.24M, so it is a
1.24/2.2=56%. However based the company most recent financial statement, TASR
has 4,974,596 shares as on 2003/12/31. During the conference call, the company
said this number is increased to 5.4M shares as on 2004/02/03. That is a 2.2M
shares increase from 3.2M. That is 70% dilution in shares. The company's growth
is good, but not fast enough to catch share dilution. The company has 230K+
warrants expiring on 2003/03/31, those warrants will become shares before 03/31.
In after hours on 2004/02/02, many die-hard longs sold their shares and report
those sales on Yahoo message boards. They have been on TASR board since its
price is sub $5. They said they have sold between $148 to $153. They are never
showed up on TASR message board since then. Those old long time investors left
their shares to new investors who lost 15% to 20% in 2 days.
So based on growth slowing down and huge dilution, let's see
how this company should be valued. TASR made $4.5M in 2003, it has 5.4M shares
priced at $120. The P/E ratio is 5.4M*$120/$4.5M=144. That is too high for any
company. Let's assume the company will double its earnings, and use a high P/E
40 for this growth company, then its valuation should be $9M*40/5.4M=$66.66.
That is pre split price. After its 3:1 split, it should be at $22.22. $66.66
is about half of its current price $120. We give Strong SELL rating
on this company.
Another potential threat to this company is that the company
is run by 3 Smiths: Chairman, Phillips Smith; CEO Patrick Smith; and COO Thomas
Smith. Are they related? Smith was on CNBC on 2004/02/03. When asked about why
he is selling his shares, he said he got paid too little, and he should make at
least millions. I do not expect any good management say such things. On
2004/02/03, the company used a press release to defence its overvalued price by
attacking an article on Barron. Good companies don't defence their share prices,
but only focus on their business. Share price should be decided by investors. Do
you see Microsoft or IBM come out to say their stock price is too low? On
2004/02/04's conference call, the company also said their overvalued price is
not so overvalued comparing to Apple Computer, Symbol:APPL. I have not ever
heard any management pumping their stock price that hard. I also have to
mention that insiders are selling their shares. Take a look at finance.yahoo.com/q/it?s=TASR
That only shows the management does not know anything about SEC rules. They can
not pump their own shares when they are dumping them. If the stock price is
still at $153, 3 months later, they are fine. But if the price is below $153
within the next 3 months, any investor can sue the company for pumping and
dumping. There will be a class action against this company, because its share
already dropped to $120 level. That is a loss of $30*5.4M=$162M. TASR, the
company or the management team will have to pay for the $162M investors lost
because of their illegal action. If you are an investor of TASR and you lost
money, you can contact the following class action lawyers for your options. Ask
them to listen TASR's conference call on web.servicebureau.net/conf/meta?i=1112436431&c=2343&m=was&u=/w_ccbn.xsl&date_ticker=2_3_2004_TASR
They will know how to help you cover your loss.
Law Firm 1:
Law Offices Of Charles J. Piven, P.A.,
Baltimore
Charles J. Piven
410/986-0036
hoffman@pivenlaw.com
Law Firm 3:
Jayne A.
Goldstein
-or-
Abraham
Rappaport
2825 University Drive Suite 350
Coral Springs,
Florida 33065
954-341-0844 Telephone
866-274-8258 Toll
Free
954-341-0855 Fax
Law Firm 5:
Linda
Flood
Director of Shareholder
Relations
Bernstein Liebhard & Lifshitz,
LLP
800-217-1522
212-779-1414
More on Deaths in Taser Cases
Article Published: Saturday, February 07, 2004
Parents of jailed man sue city after his death
By The Denver
Post
The parents of a man who died while being arrested by Pueblo
police in May 2002 have sued the city and several of its police officers for
allegedly using excessive force, including twice applying a Taser.
The suit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Denver
on behalf of Richard Baralla Sr., Molly Baralla and the estate of Richard
Baralla. It asks for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
"Defendants violated the rights of Richard Baralla ... when
knowingly and with deliberate indifference to his constitutional rights, they
applied grossly excessive force to Richard Baralla by repeatedly using a Taser
device on him, pepper-spraying him, hog-tying him, and applying their weight to
him, thereby causing him extensive pain and suffering, and ultimately, death,"
the suit asserts.
No Drugs In Man Who Died After St. Johns Deputies Used
Taser
Medical Examiner Rules Lewis King's Death
Accident
POSTED: 10:54 AM EST February 10,
2004
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- A man who died after being subdued by
sheriff's deputies with a stun gun died of cardiac arrest, according to a
medical examiner's report.
St. Johns County Sheriff Neil Perry said the autopsy showed no
drugs in the system of Lewis King (pictured, left), 39, who died while being
transported to a hospital Dec. 9.
Deputies had stopped King's sport utility vehicle for a broken
tail light. When they began questioning King about a suspicious container inside
the vehicle -- which they suspected may have contained drugs -- King sped off
with a deputy hanging onto the car.
STATEMENT FROM MEDICAL EXAMINER TERRENCE
STEINER
The Office of the Medical Examiner, District 23, has determined that
the cause of death of Lewis King was due to cardiac arrest due to hypertrophic
and ischemic cardiomyopathy.
This individual suffered severe hypertrophic cardiomopathy
(massive enlargement of the heart) of unknown cause. This was complicated by
significant arteriosclerotic thickening of coronary arteries. All toxicology
testing was negative.
As the arrest occurred, following stress and physical exertion
during law enforcement apprehension, including attempted Taser control and
restraint, the manner of death was deemed "Accident."
King then drove into a wooded area and left his car. He
was subdued a few minutes later by deputies, one of whom fired two 5-second
bursts from his Taser gun when King refused to comply with
instructions.
"(The medical examiner) believed, based on the evidence from
the autopsy, that Mr. King got excited, his heart was in bad shape, and he had a
heart attack from that excitement," Perry told Channel 4. "Obviously he did get
excited .... He was in an agitated, excited condition when the deputies
approached him."
Linnes Finney Jr., the King family attorney, said they knew
all along that there would be no drugs found in King's system.
"We took the position all along that was poppycock," Finney
said. "It's difficult to see it as accidental death when he was Tasered and in
an altercation."
Perry denied the claim that the stun gun could have killed
King.
"The Taser didn't have anything to do with it. This guy was
Tased, but he didn't die for a pretty good while. He died of a heart attack, and
the medical examiner clearly says that here," Perry said.
An outcry of the West Augustine community claiming race played
a part in his arrest and death has prompted the U.S. Department of Justice's
Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Attorney's Office to
conduct an investigation alongside the FBI.
Man dies after being shocked twice with police taser
gun
From STAFF REPORTS
WARNER ROBINS -- A Unadilla man died after being stunned
with a police Taser gun after he allegedly tried to abduct a woman in Houston
County.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation in Perry has been called
in to investigate the death of Curtis Lawson, 40, of 186 Lawson Road, Unadilla,
who died after he was shocked twice with the stunning device. An investigation
by GBI is not uncommon when a suspect dies while being arrested and Maj. Terry
Deese of the Peach County Sheriff's Office said there is no indication of
wrongdoing by any of the officers involved.
According to published reports, Lawson confronted the
22-year-old Roberta woman as she was pumping gas at the Pilot gas station at the
Ga. 247 Connector/Warner Robins exit off Interstate 75 in Peach County at around
12:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Lawson, who was barefoot and clad only in a T-shirt and
shorts, tried to get the woman to go with him. She was on her cellular phone,
talking to her boyfriend and was able to get away and run across the parking lot
to another convenience store.
The reports say that Lawson chased the woman into the store,
and employees there attempted to keep Lawson from grabbing the woman. One of the
clerks called 911, and Warner Robins police were dispatched because of the
store's location.
Meanwhile, a Peach County Sheriff's deputy, on routine patrol,
pulled into the parking lot and Lawson ran across the street. A few minutes
later 911 got a call from a man saying he was in room 144 of the Red Carpet Inn,
a hotel across from the store. The man told the operator to "get me some police
now." It's unclear if Lawson made the call or if there was someone else inside
the room who made the call.
When police arrived, Lawson was outside the room. He then ran
back inside and refused to come out after being commanded by the police. The
door was forced open and Lawson ran to the bathroom.
Unable to restrain the suspect with pepper spray, Peach County
deputies called for assistance from the Houston County Sheriff's Office for the
use of a Taser, Deese said. A Taser is a non-lethal device used to temporarily
stun an offender; it's also an alternative to having to shoot a
suspect.
Cpl. Ken Beck of the Houston County S.O. arrived with the
Taser, law enforcement officers from several responding agencies were standing
in the room near the bathroom.
In his report Beck wrote, "When I was about three feet from
the door, the offender leaped out of the bathroom towards me with his hand
stretched out as if he was trying to hit me. At this point, I stepped back and
activated my Taser."
According to the report, the first attempt with the Taser
missed Lawson so a second attempt was made which shocked and stunned him, though
he continued to fight with the officers.
After about 15 minutes, while officers were waiting for a
transport van, Lawson suddenly ceased fighting, leading the officers to ask if
he was okay.
When there was no response, officers checked his pulse and
discovered he was not breathing. CPR was started and EMS was called, but Lawson
was unable to be revived.
Woman Stunned By Officer's Taser Loses
Fetus
Officer Apparently Didn't Know Woman Was Pregnant
POSTED: 9:35 a.m. PST December 19, 2001
UPDATED:
10:06 a.m. PST December 19, 2001
CHULA VISTA -- Chula Vista police investigating a stillbirth
four days after an officer used a stun gun on a pregnant woman said an autopsy
failed to link the death to the electrical shock, a lieutenant said Wednesday.
A postmortem exam "gave no indication" that the 50,000-volt
shock from the Taser weapon was a factor in the death of the 6-month-old female
fetus last weekend, police Lt. Don Hunter said.
"At this time, the cause of death is unknown," he said.
Police responding to a report of a family fight found Cyndi
Grippi, 36, in an agitated state outside her home in the 700 block of Monterey
Avenue in Chula Vista shortly after 11 a.m. last Tuesday, authorities said.
The officers later told detectives it was not immediately
apparent that the woman was pregnant.
She was "running around frantically, screaming and seemed to
be hysterical" as her brothers, Mark and Steve, and a family friend looked on,
the lieutenant said.
When she saw the officers, the woman tried to flee into the
house, but was blocked at a garage entrance by Steve Grippi. The brother and
sister then began pushing at each other.
The officers sought to calm the woman to question her, but she
ignored them and again tried to run inside, police said.
At that point, one of the officers, a three-year member of the
Chula Vista Police Department, pointed his stun gun at her and repeated the
command to halt.
"She turned, looked at the officer, said 'no' and ran toward
the residence," Hunter said.
He then discharged the device, which sent its two small barbs
carrying electric current into her back, causing her to collapse.
"Just after (she) fell to the ground, someone shouted that she
was pregnant," Hunter said. "When the officers verified that she appeared to be
pregnant, emergency medical support was requested."
The patrolmen had not realized the woman was pregnant until
"after she was Tasered," he added.
Medics took her to Scripps Chula Vista Hospital, where she was
treated and released, with a referral to another medical center for monitoring
of her condition.
There, Grippi's fetus was stillborn early Saturday morning,
according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.
Taser stun gun's safety questioned after man's
injury
David Chanen, Star Tribune
Published February 10,
2004
Since the company started making the guns, Tuttle said, 37
people who were shocked with a Taser died after they were in police custody.
Autopsies of 28 of the victims showed their deaths weren't caused by the Tasers,
he said.
37-28=11. 11/37=30%. There are way too many heart
attack deaths in Taser cases. The percentage of death is extremely high.
Firestone refused to accept their tires caused the death of drivers, until there
is a class action against the company. We can see similar patterns here.
Funds are selling TASR, as reported on
12/31/2003
holdings.nasdaq.com/asp/Institutional.asp?strFilter=T&sHead=&coname=TASER+International%2C+Inc%2E&logopath=http%3A%2F%2Fcontent%2Enasdaq%2Ecom%2Flogos%2FTASR%2EGIF&market=Nasdaq%2DSCM&PageName=Holdings+Summary&selected=TASR&symbol=TASR&SortBy=curr_rpt_date&Descending=D
Insiders are selling TASR, as close as 02/06/2004, 3 days after earning
release, classic illegal pump and dump.
holdings.nasdaq.com/asp/Form4.asp?&sHead=t&coname=TASER+International%2C+Inc%2E&logopath=http%3A%2F%2Fcontent%2Enasdaq%2Ecom%2Flogos%2FTASR%2EGIF&market=Nasdaq%2DSCM&PageName=Holdings+Summary&selected=TASR&symbol=TASR&FormType=Form4&strFilter=T
Update on 2004/03/31
TASR is closed at $78.35 today. The pre split
price is $234. SEC will protect small investors. We have done more research on
the possible stock pumper:
Sprott Asset Management Inc.
Royal Bank Plaza, South Tower
200 Bay Street
Suite 2700, P.O. Box 27
Toronto, Ontario
M5J 2J1
T. 416 943 6707
Toll Free: 1 866 299 9906
www.sprottassetmanagement.com
Neal Nenadovic, the CFO of the
company, filed 13/G with SEC on March 10th for its holding of TASR on Feb 29th.
secfilings.nasdaq.com/filingFrameset.asp?FileName=0000945452%2D04%2D000008%2Etxt&FilePath=%5C2004%5C03%5C11%5C&CoName=TASER+INTERNATIONAL+INC&FormType=SC+13G&RcvdDate=3%2F11%2F2004&pdf=
Spott
has 1.3M shares of TASR. I called him and ask him if he get the shares from open
market. He refused to answer the question. 1.3M shares is a lot. Taser's
outstanding shares is 14M. 5% is 0.7M. SEC requires 13/G filing when anyone has more than 5%.
On Feb 27th, TASR was only traded 2.4M shares, so Spott
can not get 1.3M on Feb 27th. If they get them from open markets, they will have to
disclose that long before they can get 1.3M shares, so they must get them from
somewhere else. It is very possible Spott is behind the stock pumping of TASR
price. Many small cap companies illegally hire "stock promoter" or "pumper" to inflate its
stock prices in open market. The pumper will get paid by either cash or shares.
In this case, apparently TASR has only $14M in cash, so 1.3M shares of TASR
stock will be more than $50M dollars in open market. Spott must like it. Since
Spott is an offshore company It will take more time for SEC to sue the company.
If Spott is behind it, they will have to give back all the gains they generated
from TASR to small investors.
Meanwhile, I am trying to contact the Investor Relations in
TASR. Apparently the Full Time Chairman of TASR is acting as the parttime IR in
TASR. He does not go to work every day. I can not find him. What a JOKE. a $1B
company does not have money for an IR person? The CEO is the son of the
Chairman. It is really like a family business. Another thing SEC will also look into is that
before San Jose Police Dept's order of $780K worth Taser guns, TASR price went from $55
to $80 in few days. It is inside trading. All the money gained from inside
trading will be paid back to small investors following the order from SEC. You
need to register your name, holding shares, and cost with class action lawsuit
lawyers above. April 17th is the earning release date of TASR. TASR has $24M
sales last year, and their market cap is $1.1B. We still think TASR should be
valued at between $5 to $22 per share after split.
Recently, there are two reports that Police Depts do not have money to buy Taser Guns
Las Vegas Police department does not have money for more Taser Guns
www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-gov/2004/mar/24/516580629.html
Of that 8.5 percent increase in funding, 6 percent is what Metro will need to maintain the status quo and the other 2.5 percent will be new money that would be used to pay for additional police officers, supplies, equipment and capital growth.
For example, the department would not have the funding to buy more Taser guns as it had planned. And plans to renovate a building at St. Louis Avenue and Atlantic Street and turn it into a full-service substation would be put on hold, Gillespie said.
Houson Police also can not afford Taser guns
www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2474639
"Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt said Monday he may have to cut as much as $30 million from the department's budget to address a looming funding shortfall.
Hurtt also reiterated his hope of equipping every patrol officer with a nonlethal Taser gun by July, if not sooner. He said the guns could cost about $1.9 million.
"
As on 2004/04/05, Two More Deaths Are Reported by Taser Guns
In case one on 2004/04/02, Taser Gun was not working properly, so the police has to use the real gun to shoot the unarmed person 3 times.
URL: www.democratherald.com/articles/2004/04/03/news/oregon/state02.txt
"Lewman noted that a Taser gun fired by Macomber likely had no effect because the second of two darts needed to administer an electric shock failed to make contact with Perez."
In case two on 2004/03/29, a man was dead few minutes after a Taser was used on him
URL: www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/Metro+East/19E00838A8F7DC8786256E670020F624?OpenDocument&Headline=Man+under+arrest+dies+on+way+to+police+station
"Bramlett said that Madison police were called to Williams' house late Sunday for a domestic dispute between Williams and his girlfriend. When Williams became combative, Bramlett said, the two officers used a taser to subdue him and then arrested him on suspicion of domestic battery. Terry L. Williams, 45, collapsed about 11:30 p.m. Sunday while an officer was driving him to the police department, authorities reported Monday. He was taken to Gateway Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about 12:10 a.m."