UCLA is just the beginning. Big new market for Tasers: CONSUMERS!

[pnwmom]

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/nov2004/nf20041118_7014_db014.htm

"Though the stock's dramatic move on Nov. 8 may have been much more hype than actual new business, the company has real profits and strong growth potential. . . . For the three months ended Sept. 30, the Scottsdale, Ariz., company reported earnings of $6.1 million, or 19 cents per share, up from $1.1 million, or 4 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. It expects full-year revenue to increase 175% over the prior year.

With the X26 and the M26 models, the only stun guns on the market that pack enough power to completely immobilize their victims, Taser has next to no competition. It operates at 50% profit margins, and it has only begun to penetrate its potential markets.

Just 10% of U.S. law-enforcement officers and only 2% of all law-enforcement officers worldwide use the stun guns. Expect these numbers to change fast, however, both the company and analysts say. In the U.S., this has grown by between 1 to 2 percentage points a year. And overseas, police in Sweden and Finland as well as U.K. special-police units have received approval to use Tasers. In the coming months, Taser anticipates that police in France, Spain, and Australia will get permission to use the guns.

BIG TARGETS. Taser is also looking beyond traditional law enforcement, and sees the Defense Dept., airlines, and consumers as potential customers. All this would make the stock extremely appealing -- if it weren't already so highly priced.