Why TASER International Shares Got Zapped on Tuesday

What: Shares of stun gun maker TASER International plunged 13% on Tuesday after its quarterly results disappointed Wall Street.

So what: TASER shares have slumped sharply over the past six months on concerns over increased spending on its Axon camera/video platform, and today's wide Q3 earnings miss -- EPS of $0.03 vs. the average analyst estimate of $0.08 -- only reinforces those worries. So while TASER's revenue increased a solid 7.7% over the year-ago period, gross margins slipped to 61.7% from 64.7% in the year-ago period, giving investors plenty of negative vibes over the profitability of its long-term product mix.

Now what: Management remains confident that quickly penetrating the camera/video market is indeed the right one.

"Currently, we're witnessing a major shift and exciting transformation of TASER's business and the recent announcements of Axon Fleet, Axon Body 2 and the expanded Axon platform provides an insight into the strategic vision held by TASER," said board member Hadi Partovi. "The Axon software platform with multiple hardware extensions provides a unified law enforcement experience from TASER similar to what consumers see today with the Apple or Android ecosystems. This lays the foundation for tremendous growth and is the beginning of an incredible story."

When you couple TASER's cash-rich balance sheet with its ice-cold stock price, now might be an opportune time to buy into that long-term story.

The article Why TASER International Shares Got Zapped on Tuesday originally appeared on Fool.com.

Brian Pacampara has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Taser International. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.