DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) shares are up around 0.5% in Tuesday morning trade, at $2.17 a piece.

The increase is good news for investors, but it’s been a volatile ride for the ASX defence stock this year.

DroneShield shares have fluctuated anywhere between $4.74 in January and a low of $2.14 late last week. At the current trading price, the stock is down 35% year to date and 54% from its January 2026 peak.

The shares are also now 41% below trading levels this time last year.

What happened to DroneShield shares in the first half of 2026?

There has been a turnaround in sentiment around DroneShield shares over the past few months.

After a strong start to the year, supported by higher global defence budgets and geopolitical volatility following conflict in the Middle East, the share price started falling. Investors flocked to defence-related shares when governments around the world hiked their defence budgets and geopolitical risk worsened. 

After a peak in late-March, it looks like investors started turning their back on the stock and a sell-off accelerated into May and again in June.

A combination of recent governance and regulatory issues and the cooling of conflict in the Middle East dragged DroneShield shares down.

And surprisingly, reignited conflict in the region hasn’t done anything to support investor interest in the defence technology company.

It looks like, now, investors are concerned that the company’s future growth may not be large enough to justify its share price. 

Is the ASX defence stock a buy, sell, or hold?

I think sentiment around DroneShield shares is finally cooling. I think we could see some more downside over the next few weeks ahead of the company’s half-year FY26 financial results announcement in mid August.

It looks like analysts are sharply divided about DroneShield shares, too.

TradingView data shows that out of four analysts, two have a strong buy rating, and two have a sell or strong sell rating.

The average $3.22 target price still implies a potential 48% upside at the time of writing. The maximum $4.80 target price implies that DroneShield shares could leap another 120%. 

Meanwhile, some are more bearish, tipping the shares to fall 6% from the current trading price, to $2.05 a piece. 

Canaccord Genuity is one analyst with a bullish view on the shares. It renewed its buy rating on Droneshield shares earlier this month, with a 12-month price target of $3.75.

The post Down 41%: Can DroneShield shares bounce back, or is the rally finally over? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended DroneShield. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Earning a passive income off your superannuation balance is easier than you’d think.

You just need to know how to invest it, and understand what level of passive income to expect.

The benefit of investing your superannuation for a passive income in retirement is that it comes with the added benefit of low tax rates and long-term compounding.

The only downside is that you can’t access it until you reach retirement age.

But how much do you actually need in your super to be able to earn the passive income you want in retirement?

Let’s break it down, using a monthly $7,000 passive income as a guide.

How much do I need in my superannuation to get a passive income of $7,000 every month?

There’s a simple calculation you can use. First you’d need to work out what your monthly passive income totals over the year, then divide that annual passive income figure by the dividend yield of your portfolio.

For example, $7,000 x 12 = $84,000. Divide that by a 3% yielding portfolio and you’ll need a $2.8 million portfolio in order to earn $84,000 per year (or $7,000 per month).

Of course, a $2.8 million superannuation balance isn’t achievable for many Australians. 

But the good news is that, as your dividend yield increases, the superannuation balance required to earn the same passive income goes down.

For example, a portfolio with a dividend yield of around 6% only needs to be half the size of one with a dividend yield of around 3% to generate the same level of passive income. 

How much do I need in my superannuation if my portfolio yields 4%?

To earn $84,000 per year off a 4% yielding portfolio, you’d need to have a balance of around $2.1 million.

ASX shares that could fit the bill are things like Westpac Banking Corporation Ltd (ASX: WBC), ANZ GRoup Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ), or Transurban Group (ASX: TCL). These all yield 4% or a little more.

• How much do I need in my superannuation if my portfolio yields 5%?

To earn the same $84,000 per year off a 5% yielding portfolio, you’d need to have a superannuation balance closer to $1.68 million.

Shares that yield 5% or just over are things like Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX: UNI) and AGL Energy Ltd (ASX: AGL).

What about for a 6% yielding portfolio?

A superannuation balance around $1.4 million can earn the same passive income on a 6% yielding portfolio.

Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (ASX: HVN), Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) and Dexus Industria REIT (ASX: DXI) are good examples of ASX shares that yield around 6%.

And for a portfolio that yields 7% or 8%, what do I need then?

Higher yielding shares mean investors can earn the same passive income off a much smaller superannuation balance, but they do come with added risk.

A $1.2 million or $1.05 million portfolio yielding 7% or 8% respectively, could earn $84,000 in passive income.

Higher yielding options are ASX shares like the BetaShares Australian Top 20 Equities Yield Maximiser Complex ETF (ASX: YMAX), GQG Partners Inc (ASX: GQG) or Centuria Office REIT (ASX: COF).

The post How much do I need in my superannuation to earn $7k per month in passive income? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• These ASX shares could generate $12,000 per year in passive income
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• 3 ASX dividend shares to buy with 5%+ yields
• Are Westpac shares a top buy this week?

Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Transurban Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Harvey Norman and Transurban Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Gqg Partners and Universal Store. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Brokers can’t agree on how much AIC Mines Ltd (ASX: A1M) shares will go up, but two of them agree the company is currently undervalued.

New production guidance impressing analysts

Both Bell Potter and Barrenjoey have published new research reports on AIC in the past few days, after the company announced guidance for the current year and a three-year growth outlook for its Eloise and Jericho copper mines.

The company said it was “an exciting time” as it transitioned from a small-scale, single mine to a 1.5 million tonne per annum dual mine operation producing 25,000 tonnes per annum in copper concentrate,

For the current year, AIC said it expected to produce 17,500-18,000 tonnes of copper, weighted to the second half of the year.

Guidance for the following year was for production of 20,000-22,000 tonnes, increasing to 25,000-27,000 tonnes in FY29.

The company added:

The Stage 2 Eloise plant expansion to 1.5Mtpa is now targeted to be completed in the December 2028 Quarter, approximately 2 years earlier than previously planned. This expansion, along with accelerated underground development at Jericho, is expected to increase copper production by a further 25% to over 25,000tpa in concentrate from FY29. No additional funding is required for the Stage 2 Eloise plant expansion or accelerated underground development at Jericho. However, the US$40 million Trafigura Prepayment Facility for the Eloise Expansion Project (currently drawn to US$30 million) has recently been expanded by US$10 million to a total US$50 million to ensure cost overruns or production delays can be managed, if required.

Bell Potter increased its price target on AIC shares following the announcement, boosting it from 90 cents to 95 cents.

The Bell Potter analysts said the accelerated stage 2 expansion was a positive, and had not previously been incorporated into their modelling.

They added that the company, “has a strong track record of delivering to guidance and a well-credentialed management team”.

Second broker even more positive

Barrenjoey has an even more bullish price target of $1.20 on AIC shares, compared to 64.75 cents currently.

They said regarding the announcement:

In our view the market should like the guidance and plans to grow further at reasonable costs/capex and an upsized debt facility. In the short term, FY27 is guided to be a more productive/cash generative year than we expected. We lift our FY27 production forecast by 16% to 17.5kt, at the lower end of A1M’s guidance, allowing for some execution risk. This drives an uplift in our FY27 EBITDA by 9% to $181m and an increase in free cash flow by about A$40m to now be $11m (from -$33m before), which means a better balance sheet position.

The post This ASX copper producer will jump 40-80%, brokers say appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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