How Do You Handle A White-Hot Taser?; Stock's stunning climb defies skeptics' doubts; earnings, sales surging.(A)

Byline: JONAH KERI

The last few months have been a trying time for investors, with stocks yo-yoing. A few stocks have logged solid gains, almost none of those enormous winners.

Almost. Those who've owned or just watched one stock have been reminded of the high-flying late '90s, when the sky was the limit for market leaders. That stock? Taser International.

In the last 12 months, the maker of non-lethal weapons for law enforcement has rocketed 5,844%. Since breaking out of a short pattern in mid-September, it's roared 835%. Since clearing a four-week pattern Jan. 9, it's romped 172%. If you waited until Taser cleared resistance near 60 on March 18, you'd be up 41% . . . in two weeks.

Now the million-dollar question -- sorry, the $1.1 million question, the stock just went up again: What do you do if you own Taser?

"A lot of the things I tend to look at are how far extended it is beyond the 200-day -- 75%, 100% is usually a flag -- if it breaks channel lines in increasing volume, or if there's increasing volume with a decreasing spread," said Mike Doran, president of regional advisory and money management firm Sierra Capital Planning. "If you get a really sharp, violent pullback, that changes the character of the stock as well."

But despite its meteoric rise, Taser hasn't violated most key sell rules. It hasn't busted above channel lines drawn along its highs. It hasn't shown much churning. And while Taser dived 30% in one five-day stretch in February, it quickly righted itself.