Gunmakers' stocks continue to languish in the wake of the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary school, as talk of gun control heats up.
Shares of Smith & Wesson (SWHC) fell $0.29, or 3%, to $8.84 and Sturm Ruger (RGR) lost $1.13, or 2.48%, to $44.44 early Monday.
The
shooting, which occurred on Dec. 14, 2012, has turned into a negative
event for the two largest publicly-traded gun stocks in the U.S.
Since
the day of the shooting, one of the deadliest at an elementary school,
shares of Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger are down 7% and 6.8%
respectively.
Investors' fear is that the event might not only
reopen discussion of gun control but also snuff out what's been a period
of strong weapons sales.
Gun sales have been robust the past
year. Sales at Smith & Wesson are up 37% the past 12 months,
compared with the previous 12-month period, says S&P Capital IQ. And
sales growth has been even stronger at Sturm, Ruger, which has seen its
revenue jump 42% on that same basis.