Sturm Ruger Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of firearm specialist Sturm, Ruger & Co. (NYS: RGR) surged as much as 10.6% Thursday after it posted solid first-quarter bookings.

So what: Demand for its firearms has been so strong -- Sturm Ruger received orders for more than 1 million units in the first quarter -- that management is being forced to temporarily suspend the acceptance of new orders. The shares are flirting with a new 52-week high on the news and are up roughly 115% over the past year.

Now what: Management said it will report quarterly results May 1 and that it expects to resume the normal acceptance of orders by the end of May. But while Sturm Ruger should continue to benefit from strong demand, much of that sales momentum might already be baked into the valuation. With a P/E over 20, I'd wait for a decent pullback before pulling the trigger.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. 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 Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

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