As President Barack Obama announced his plan to take executive actions on gun control, gun stocks saw a sharp spike upward.

Speaking to a crowd of gun control activists and victims of gun violence Tuesday morning, Obama outlined his plan to implement stronger background checks in an effort to finally close the gun show loophole that allows purchasers to bypass background checks completely.

Just ahead of his announcement, shares of Smith & Wesson and Strum, Ruger & Co. -- both manufacturers of firearms -- saw a significant increase in shares, with Smith & Wesson shares up as high as 14 percent Tuesday, according to Market Watch and Google Finance.