Completely against his intentions, President Obama has proven to be the greatest gun salesman in American history.
Throughout his presidency, the fear of more gun control regulations has sent gun sales soaring on several occasions.
In turn, shares of gun manufacturers and gun-related stocks have risen sharply, too.
In early January, Obama announced an executive order aimed at tightening gun regulations, following a spate of mass shootings – an announcement that triggered a price spike in the likes of Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (SWHC).
However, his ability to unilaterally impose gun control regulations is highly limited. He has virtually no chance of getting gun laws through a Second Amendment-friendly Congress.
But the recent death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia offers a chance to shift the terms of the debate significantly.
Will Scalia’s Death Boost Gun Sales?
It’s no secret that Scalia was a passionate and persuasive defender of the Constitution – including the Second Amendment.
In the famous Heller case, he declared, “The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia and to use that firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.”
Never before had the Supreme Court spoken with such clarity about the Second Amendment.
Now, with Scalia gone, it’s all but certain that his replacement will be a less ardent defender of Scalia’s reading of the Second Amendment.
The uncertainty in the meantime has proven bullish for gun-related stocks. Since Scalia’s death, shares in these stocks are up between 9% and 13.5%.
But is this a classic case of “buy on the rumor, sell on the news”?
Four Stocks to Play the Rising Gun Industry Trend
While gun stocks have performed extremely well during the Obama administration, they’ve tended to trade off the peaks that they hit shortly after political-inspired spikes. Dealers ordered too much stock and then struggled to sell their bloated inventories.
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