Gun manufacturers’ stock prices surged in days after mass shooting

Stock prices and trading volume for three major U.S. gun manufacturers surged in the immediate aftermath of Sunday night’s deadly killing in Las Vegas that left 58 dead and at least 527 injured.

Share volume in Southport, Connecticut-based Sturm, Ruger & Co., the maker of Ruger firearms, more than tripled from Friday (202,200 shares) to Monday (729,900), before subsiding Tuesday (538,400) and Wednesday (387,877). Sturm Ruger’s stock price rose 5.7 percent from Friday’s close, $51.70, to Tuesday’s close, $54.65, then sank to $53.05 Wednesday.

Share volume in Springfield, Massachusetts-based firearms designer and manufacturer American Outdoor Brands Corp. surged from 1.1 million Friday to around 4.1 million Monday before retreating to 2.5 million Wednesday. The share price rose 5.6 percent from Friday ($15.25) to Wednesday ($16.11).

And trading volume in Winchester ammunition brand owner Olin more than doubled from 2.1 million on Friday to 4.3 million on Monday; volume was 1.1 million Wednesday. The Clayton, Missouri, company’s share price rose 6.6 percent from $34.25 Friday to $36.51 Wednesday.

Gun company stock prices also surged after the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, last year. Ruger, for example, rose 8.5 percent immediately after the shooting. Smith & Wesson stocks, which hadn’t yet been acquired by Outdoor Brands, rose 6.5 percent.

Analysts have surmised that gun company stocks increase after mass shootings because gun owners expect tougher gun controls to follow. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that lawmakers will discuss gun laws “as time goes by.”

Analysts told CNBC that the stocks may have surged also because stock traders think more people will buy more guns for protection after the shooting.

Police found at least 23 firearms in shooter Stephen Paddock’s room at Mandalay Bay, where he checked in Sept. 28. They also recovered 19 additional firearms.

Contact Matthew Crowley at mcrowley@reviewjournal.com Follow @copyjockey on Twitter.