Smith & Wesson Gun Sales Surge And The Stock Is Taking Off

Gunmaker Smith & Wesson announced third quarter net sales of $145.9 million, up 7.1% from the year ago quarter.

The stock is up 7% in after-hours trading.

Handgun sales surged 29.9% from the year ago quarter.

"Our performance for the third quarter of fiscal 2014 reflected the ongoing successful execution of our growth strategy," said CEO James Debney in a statement. "We maintained our focus on increasing market share of our Smith & Wesson M&P polymer pistol family of products and thereby delivered handgun revenue growth of nearly 30%, a solid result when we consider that the year-ago quarter reflected a surge in consumer demand."

"We continued to demonstrate our strong track record of new product development, launching several new products at SHOT Show in January, particularly in the revolver category, all of which were well received and drew incremental orders from our customers," he said.