DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) shares fell to a fresh 52-week low on Monday, closing the day down another 2% to just $1.58 a piece.

The drone operator’s shares have now lost around 53% of their value so far in 2026, and are down 64% over the past 12 months.

What happened to DroneShield shares in 2026?

After some heavy selling in late 2025, DroneShield shares started strong in 2026. Concerns around geopolitical volatility and instability in the Middle East saw governments around the world hike their defence budgets.

But by April, investors started turning their backs on the ASX defence stock amid concerns about whether the company’s future growth prospects are large enough to justify its share price.

The share sell-off accelerated in May when DroneShield announced that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) had requested that the company provide reasonable assistance in connection with an investigation under the Corporations Act. The investigation relates to market announcements and share trading in November 2025.

Sentiment slumped even further when the company posted a disappointing first-half FY26 result last month.

DroneShield posted a 74% increase in revenue for the six months ending 30th of June, and a 229% increase in recurring revenue. But DroneShield also posted a statutory net loss after tax of $32.2 million, compared with a $2.1 million profit a year earlier. Underlying EBITDA also came in at a $12.4 million loss, compared with an $8 million profit posted in the first half of FY25.

DroneShield’s revenue came in line with guidance expectations. But recurring revenue was a miss, at $11.5 million versus guidance of $14.2 million for the six-month period.

Even this month’s news of DroneShield’s new RfRecon weapon and new non-executive director, Lynne Saint, hasn’t been enough to reignite confidence in the stock.

So, can DroneShield shares bounce back? Or has the defence stock well and truly passed its peak?

Are the shares a buy, sell, or hold now?

The experts are still divided on their outlook for DroneShield shares over the next 12 months, which means it’s unclear whether the stock has the potential to rebound from the latest low.

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

The target prices also vary. The average target price of $1.99 implies a potential 26% upside over the next 12 months, at the time of writing. 

But the minimum $1.45 target price implies an 8% downside at the time of writing. And the maximum $2.60 target price suggests DroneShield shares could rise another 65% over the next 12 months.

My view on DroneShield shares

I think that at the current trading price, DroneShield shares are probably below fair value. But without any visibility of tailwinds to drive the share price higher over the next few months, I can’t see a meaningful increase before the end of the year. All eyes will be on the company’s full-year FY26 result, expected in February next year.

The post Can DroneShield shares recover from a fresh 52-week low? 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.

The Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) share price is in focus after the company secured three new AI infrastructure contracts worth nearly $1 billion and upgraded its FY27 guidance.

What did Megaport report?

• Three new AI infrastructure contracts with a combined total contract value (TCV) of A$978.6 million
• Group pro forma annual recurring revenue (ARR) lifted to around A$1.1 billion, with over 85% from North America
• Prepayments on these contracts total A$322.6 million, supporting future growth
• Group FY27 revenue guidance raised to A$720–810 million (from A$620–730 million)
• FY27 EBITDA margin guidance increased to 42–44% (previously 38–40%)
• FY27 planned capital expenditure (capex) raised to A$1.78–1.88 billion, reflecting new contract requirements

What else do investors need to know?

Megaport’s new agreements have brought the combined total contract value for strategic contracts announced since April 2026 to A$2.3 billion. The contracts span GPU and CPU compute, networking, and storage for AI and inference workloads, and include prepayments that help fund capital expenditure and bolster liquidity.

Network ARR as of 31 August 2026 reached A$302.6 million, up 29% year-on-year on a constant currency basis, while Compute ARR (September 2026) stood at A$201.4 million, up 90% from June and up 227% since acquisition. Megaport’s Net Revenue Retention for the network climbed to 116%. The company remains fully funded for its updated strategy, ending with pro forma liquidity of approximately A$362.2 million.

What did Megaport management say?

Michael Reid, Megaport CEO said:

Since April, we’ve announced approximately A$2.3 billion in total strategic contract value…Together with our existing business, these contracts support approximately A$1.1 billion in Group ARR once deployed.

Earlier deployments, new contracts, and Network growth underpin our upgraded FY27 revenue and EBITDA margin guidance. Customers have committed approximately A$323 million in prepayments on today’s contracts, supporting the infrastructure investment behind future growth.

We’re broadening our customer base, replenishing our GPU pool, and expanding our AI inference platform. Our progress has been extraordinary, and we remain focused on delivery and disciplined investment. We’re just getting started.

What’s next for Megaport?

Megaport expects these new contracts to begin billing progressively through FY27, helping the business reach its full run-rate ARR by Q4 FY27. The company is also investing heavily in replenishing its GPU pool and securing infrastructure to maintain growth momentum.

Looking ahead, management sees strong demand for AI infrastructure services and is targeting continued expansion of its platform and customer base. With growth driven by both existing and new strategic contracts, Megaport’s upgraded guidance reflects confidence in execution and sector opportunities.

Megaport share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Megaport shares have risen 22%, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

View Original Announcement

The post Megaport lifts FY27 outlook after landing $1B in new AI infrastructure deals appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart 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 Megaport. 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. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.

The oil and gas sector has certainly been volatile with the conflict in the Middle East.

In this environment, it can be useful to defer to the experts, with Macquarie recently releasing two new research reports: one on an oil and gas junior and one on a major company.

Let’s see who they like.

Strike Energy Ltd (ASX: STX)

Strike shares have returned exactly 0% over the past 12 months, but the Macquarie analysts believe that’s about to change.

Key to this is an agreement Strike recently made with Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Energy to process the gas from its West Erregulla project through Hancock’s Belisama facility.

The deal also included a $30 million loan from Hancock, which Strike will use to support its share of pre-development activities.

The West Erregulla joint venture is targeting a final investment decision in FY28, with first gas expected in CY29.

Macquarie said the deal was “a key turning point”, materially improving the development pathway for the project.

The broker said:

In our view, this was particularly important given Walyering’s limited life (we forecast production to end Dec-28 quarter for now) – with West Erregulla targeted online mid-CY29. The market seems to be under-appreciating the significance of this for now & it may take some time for institutional interest to return to STX.

Macquarie said that with the Hancock money and debt funding from Macquarie Bank, the company was adequately funded.

The broker has a price target of 15 cents on Strike shares compared to 11 cents currently.

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

Santos shares have performed well over the past year, up 24.4%, but the team at Macquarie thinks they have further to run.

The broker’s analysts said in their research note on the company that the third quarter will be a “watershed” period as Santos moves into the harvest phase after a long period of investment.

They added that the strong commodity pricing environment was providing a favourable earnings backdrop, with the disruption in the Middle East continuing.

Macquarie is forecasting earnings per share to be 40% higher for the calendar year, driven by higher realised prices and increased LNG shipments; however, they noted that their estimate was 31% above consensus.

Macquarie has an outperform rating on Santos shares and a price target of $9.35 compared to $8.58 currently.

Conversely, Macquarie has a neutral rating on Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) and a price target of $32.40 compared to $31.77.

Santos is valued at $27.8 billion.

The post 2 ASX energy companies Macquarie says will outperform appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England 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 Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.