Diamonds and Dogs

12/18/12

Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (SWHC)

Smith & Wesson is shooting into the ground today, down 9.99% at$7.79. This week is looking like the downfall for gun related stocks. After the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, many gun companies are seeing shares in the red. Yesterday Cabela's was down significantly; today, Ruger and Smith and Wesson are down. The gun and accessory maker saw its shares crash due to investors fear of tighter gun regulation. Brian Rafn, director of research at Morgan Dempsey Capital Management, said that he believes that a rally in gun stocks will take place as consumers will look to purchase more guns before stricter gun laws are enforced. However, today it seems that investors are feeling the opposite, as Smith and Wesson lost nearly $1.00 per share.

Arbitron Inc. (ARB)

Arbitron Inc. is climbing upward today, up 23.63% at $47.03. The media and marketing company saw shares explode after news of a buyout was released. Nielsen Holdings, the biggest tracker of U.S. television ratings, agreed to buy Arbitron for about $1.26 billion in cash, giving it access to the largest source of data on the country's radio listeners. The $1.26 billion represents around $48 per share or a 26% premium to Arbitron's closing price yesterday. Nielsen management said that they wanted to provide advertisers with a unified system to measure audiences across both major forms of media. Arbitron blew the doors off of its previous 52-week high of $39.98.

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