Shotspotter Inc (NASDAQ:SSTI)
In the wake of the most recent mass shooting tragedy that occurred on U.S. soil in Las Vegas on Sunday-which is being categorized as the worst mass killing on us soil since 2001- shares of particular stocks have been affected for the positive and for the negative.
One such stock being affected in a positive way, and by that I mean an increase in share price, is a little-known Nasdaq stock called ShotSpotter Incorporated. The symbol is (SSTI) and is a small-cap stock which is thinly traded on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange and went public just as recent as June of this year in a $30 million dollar share offering priced at $11 per share.
The company brought in $35 million dollars in proceeds from the IPO which was handled by Roth Capital, Northland Capital, and Imperial capital. The company is very small and employs only 70 employees located in California.
However, what they do is no small task. Basically what the company provides is a sophisticated electronic device or sensor, that detects and pinpoints the location of gunfire in cities all across America that have decided to participate and purchase the technology from them.
The alerts are digital and sent by the company to the local authorities which would be the First Responders in such events such as gunfire and loud unexplainable gunshot like sounds. It does have the ability though to distinguish between pyrotechnics or fireworks and actual gunshots.
The share price has surged of late, especially on Tuesday’s trading action as the stock price was up 18.3% closing up $2.63 at $17 as of 4 p.m. As mentioned earlier, shares opened in the IPO at $11 per share, so closing it 17 represents a roughly 55% share increase since the IPO.
The Costs And Where They Are Located
The annual subscription fee for the company’s technology is between $65,000 and $95,000 per square mile with a minimum of 3 square miles required for purchase. Some of the larger places in America are New York City, San Francisco, Boston, New Haven, Canton, Milwaukee, and Miami Gardens.
Each sensor has a radius of somewhere around 300 miles each. ShotSpotter is currently available in 90 cities worldwide, including cities in 23 U.S. states and territories .Twenty six out of twenty eight U.S. cities employing the ShotSpotter reported a median 29% reduction of gun violence within a year of implementation.
Some have even reported up to 80% in gunfire reduction and 40% reduction in related violent crime and homicides.-Marketwatch.com
ShotSpotter Chart
The above price chart shows the daily price action since the IPO in June. It is clear to see that shares have recently broken out from a sideways trading pattern and have been ignited in the wake of the most recent mass shooting in Las Vegas Nevada.
Company And Police Comments
Ralph Clark, CEO of ShotSpotter had this to say:
“We are excited to be working with police departments in successfully implementing gunshot detection solutions as a critical component of their gun violence prevention efforts. Cities are seeing positive outcomes and improved community engagement as a result of their agency’s ShotSpotter adoption and integration with best practices execution. We are thrilled with all of our customer collaborations that are making a real difference in improved public safety for all, especially in those at-risk neighborhoods who also deserve community peace.”
And Cincinnati Assistant Police Chief Paul Neudigate separately stated:
“After just four weeks of using ShotSpotter, we are already seeing a positive impact from the technology, We have three square miles of coverage in one of our most problematic communities for shooting violence and have had over sixty activations in just a month’s time.”
And according to Lieutenant Jim Cirillo, Louisville Metro Police Department, “ShotSpotter’s technology product has done exactly what they promised it to do.”
Company Profile
ShotSpotter, Inc. provides software-as-a-service based gunshot detection solutions for law enforcement officials and security personnel worldwide. Its solutions include ShotSpotter Flex, an outdoor public safety solution for cities and municipalities to identify, locate, and deter gun violence by incorporating a real-time gunshot detection system into their policing systems; and SST SecureCampus and ShotSpotter SiteSecure that helps the law enforcement and security personnel serving universities, colleges, and other educational institutions to mitigate risk and enhance security by notifying authorities and first responders of an active-shooter. The company serves public safety customers and higher-education campuses through direct sales teams. ShotSpotter, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Newark, California.