Smith and Wesson Gun Sales Surge Along With Stock Price

Smith and Wesson shares jumped 13 percent Wednesday after the firearms manufacturer announced its quarterly sales were "stronger than originally anticipated."

For its fourth quarter, which will end April 30, Smith and Wesson said it expects net sales of between $175 and $179 million, with fiscal full year sales totaling up to $550 million.

CNN Money reported that the new forecast represents an 8 percent boost from a financial projection just six weeks ago.

Overall, the company stock has soared 50 percent since the beginning of the year.

Smith and Wesson achieved a record $626 million for fiscal 2014, but fiscal 2015 is shaping up to look more like 2013's numbers.

The other publicly traded U.S. firearm manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & Co., also saw a 10 percent boost on Wednesday, and has ascended overall throughout 2015.

"Mass shootings in a Colorado movie theater and the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012 raised calls for tighter gun control rules. The prospect of tighter gun control led enthusiasts to buy guns out of fear that they would lose access," wrote MassLive.com.

"But rules, for the most part, stayed the same, and in 2014 sales fell as normal buying patterns returned."

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