Prison stocks have been ticking up for the past week.
Guns stocks are tumbling and prison stocks are soaring after Donald Trump won the presidential election.
Corrections Corp. of America CXW, -1.62% was the biggest percentage gainer listed on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, with shares closing up 43%. Shares of Geo Group GEO, +2.79% which has corrections and other facilities in North America and abroad, closed up 21%.
The gain Wednesday marked the biggest one-day percentage gain for the company since June 2000.
The Obama administration in August announced plans to phase out some private prison use, which potentially could be reversed in a Trump administration.
By comparison, the S&P 500 SPX, -0.24% was 1% Wednesday, and it has gained 3.5% so far this week.
Meanwhile, shares of gun maker Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. RGR, -1.91% closed down 14.5% . Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation SWHC, -2.55% shares closed down 15%.
Gun sales ticked up after of President Obama’s elections on concerns that laws around gun control would become more restrictive, said Chris Krueger, senior research analyst at Lake Street Capital. Now he believes gun buyers are more confident that Trump will protect gun-carry laws, so they’re not rushing out to buy them, leading to a drop in the stock, he said.
In California, voters passed a ballot measure that tightened gun-control laws in the state. Washington state residents voted to restrict access to firearms for people that have been deemed by a court to be a threat. Nevada residents voted to expand background checks for gun purchases.
Read more at marketwatch.com
Featured photo courtesy of wisegeek.com
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