Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. SWBI is likely to register top and bottom-line improvement, when it reports first-quarter 2022 results on Sep 1, backed by benefit from sporting goods shipment and increase in handguns revenues. The company might also witness margin improvement in the quarter to be reported.Gross Margin Likely to ImproveIn fourth-quarter fiscal 2021, the company’s gross margin came in at 45.1%, up roughly 1,300 basis points year over year. The momentum is likely to have continued in first-quarter fiscal 2022, owing to increased unit shipments, lower promotional activity, and price increase and mix shift toward higher-margin products. The company has been benefiting from robust demand for M&P Shield EZ small, concealable pistol.The company has been gaining from new products launch. On its fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 call, it announced that it will launch 12 unique brand-new products in the upcoming year.However, increased volume-related spending, inflation, higher depreciation on machinery purchases, and compensation-related costs to increased headcount and profitability might have impacted margins slightly.Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. QuoteOverall Q1 ExpectationsThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.26, compared with 97 cents in the prior-year quarter. The consensus mark for revenues stands at $296.2 million, suggesting growth of 6.6% from the year-ago quarter.Smith & Wesson, which shares space with Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. RGR, carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Key PicksSome better-ranked stocks worth considering in the same space include Vista Outdoor Inc. VSTO and OneWater Marine Inc. ONEW. Both the stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Vista Outdoor has reported better-than-expected earnings in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 70.1%.OneWater Marine has trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 194.5%, on average. Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $2.4 trillion by 2028 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases. Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Recommendations from previous editions of this report have produced gains of +205%, +258% and +477%. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (RGR): Free Stock Analysis Report Vista Outdoor Inc. (VSTO): Free Stock Analysis Report OneWater Marine Inc. (ONEW): Free Stock Analysis Report Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (SWBI): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research