How Taser Shocked Wall Road within the Early 2000s
In 2002, “stun gun” maker Taser, now known as Axon Enterprise (AXON), went on one of the crucial gorgeous runs in Wall Road historical past. From late October 2002 to its prime in December of 2004, Taser soared from $0.40 to $33.45, registering a mind-blowing 8,262.50% return.
Picture Supply: Zacks Funding Analysis
What drove Taser’s euphoric transfer? The reply is the right storm of product innovation, luck, and an absence of competitors. In 2003, Taser perfected its non-lethal weapon, the TASER X26. As a result of the X26 was much less cumbersome and lighter than its early fashions, Taser was in a position to turn into the gold commonplace of non-lethal expertise for police departments throughout the nation.
Gone have been the times have been police solely had the tough binary selection of utilizing deadly pressure or no pressure in any respect. In the meantime, as a result of the 9/11 tragedy had lately occurred, Taser was in a position to win funding from the U.S. Division of Protection (DoD) to offer its stun gun expertise to the navy and pilots (to make use of as a protection towards hijackers. By the tip of 2003, over 4,000 regulation enforcement companies had adopted Taser’s expertise.
Taser: Purchase Excessive, Promote Larger
On Wall Road, hindsight is 20/20. Previous to its large transfer, Taser was an illiquid, unknown firm, that had registered unfavourable returns. That stated, traders might have nonetheless made life-changing fortunes by latching onto the inventory after it had already registered triple-digit income progress and had gained 1,000%.
Taser: Again-to-Again Excessive Tight Flags
William O’Neil was one of many biggest progress traders of all-time. O’Neil gained reputation together with his distinctive view of markets. As a substitute of solely counting on both technicals or fundamentals, O’Neil used each to achieve a bonus on Wall Road, finally making a fortune. A few of O’Neil’s most worthwhile trades got here from his high-tight flag sample in shares like Qualcomm (QCOM) (in 2000) and Taser in 2003.
What’s an O’Neil Excessive-Tight Flag?
In O’Neil’s traditional e-book, “Find out how to Make Cash in Shares” he recognized Wall Road’s “nice paradox.” That’s, “What appears too excessive and dangerous to the bulk normally goes larger, and what appears low and low-cost normally goes decrease.” In different phrase’s O’Neil believed that traders should purchase momentum and energy as a substitute of on the lookout for bargains. The excessive tight flag is probably the most excessive instance of this idea. An O’Neil excessive tight flag could be recognized by the next traits:
1. A inventory should transfer 100% or extra inside 4 to eight weeks.
2. After the flag pole is constructed, the inventory ought to relaxation, correcting not more than 25% over the following 3 to five weeks.
3. Lastly, a breakout above the earlier excessive triggers the excessive tight flag.
Within the early 2000s, Taser did the unthinkable and broke out of two consecutive excessive tight flags.

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Sandisk: Shades of 2003 Taser
“There’s nothing new in Wall Road. There can’t be as a result of hypothesis is as previous because the hills. No matter occurs in thestock market todayhas occurred earlier than and can occur once more.” ~ Jesse Livermore
So what relevance does 2003 Taser need to 2026? Zacks Rank #1 (Sturdy Purchase) inventory Sandisk Company (SNDK) has an almost similar sample to 2003 Taser. In January, SNDK shares broke out of a traditional excessive tight flag sample and offered traders with a 154% acquire in simply 4 weeks. Since then, the inventory has consolidated in a shallow 25% vary, forming one other potential excessive tight flag sample.

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Sandisk is Rising Quick and is Catalyst Wealthy
Sandisk designs, develops, and manufactures NAND flash-based reminiscence playing cards and storage gadgets utilized in knowledge facilities and AI workloads. Like Taser, the shares blistering transfer is backed by explosive basic progress. Actually, Zacks Consensus Estimates counsel that the corporate will develop its annual earnings by triple-digits by 2027.

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In the meantime, just like the Taser precedent, Sandisk has a novel catalyst. Amid the AI knowledge middle constructing frenzy, demand for NAND expertise is outstripping provide, resulting in juicy margins.
Backside Line
The meteoric rise of Taser within the early 2000s serves as a robust reminder that life-changing fortunes are sometimes discovered by embracing energy reasonably than looking for bargains. With its back-to-back excessive tight flags and its explosive basic catalysts, Sandisk is following the historic path of Taser in 2003.
Past Nvidia: AI’s Second Wave Is Right here
The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. However the shares everybody is aware of about aren’t prone to preserve delivering the most important earnings. Little-known AI companies tackling the world’s largest issues could also be extra profitable within the coming months and years.
QUALCOMM Included (QCOM) : Free Inventory Evaluation Report
Sandisk Company (SNDK) : Free Inventory Evaluation Report
Axon Enterprise, Inc (AXON) : Free Inventory Evaluation Report
This text initially revealed on Zacks Funding Analysis (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the writer and don’t essentially replicate these of Nasdaq, Inc.

