It can be useful for investors to keep an eye on which shares have experienced meaningful insider buying.

This is because insider buying is often regarded as a bullish indicator, as few people know a company and its intrinsic value better than its directors. If they are buying, it could be a sign that they are confident in the direction the company is heading and see value in its shares.

With that in mind, listed below are a few ASX All Ords shares that have reported insider buying recently. They are as follows:

AUB Group Ltd (ASX: AUB)

An insider has been buying this insurance broker’s shares in recent sessions. According to a change of director’s interests notice, Melanie Laing picked up 1,714 shares through an on-market trade of 31 May. Laing paid a total consideration of $49,980.65, which equates to an average of $29.16 per share.

Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE)

This uranium producer has reported some meaningful insider buying. Its non-executive director, Jan Honeyman, bought 21,739 shares through an on-market trade on 30 May. Ms Honeyman paid an average of $4.60 per share, which equates to a total consideration of $99,999.40. This almost doubled the director’s stake in the company.

Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE)

This auto retailer’s director, Nick Politis, has been making large investments in its shares in recent months. This continued last week on 30 May when Politis snapped up a further 100,000 shares in the ASX All Ords share for an average of $10.11 per share. This equates to a total consideration of just over $1 million. A day earlier, fellow director David Blackhall bought 45,000 shares through an on-market trade.

Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC)

The CEO of this beaten down property development company has been buying shares. A notice shows that Anthony Lombardo snapped up 15,000 shares through an on-market trade on 30 May. He paid an average of $6.0196 per share, which represents a total consideration of approximately $90,000.

Peter Warren Automotive Holdings Ltd (ASX: PWR)

Another beaten down ASX All Ords share that has reported insider buying is Peter Warren Automotive. Its executive director Paul Warren made a series of trades between 28 May and 30 May. This saw him snap up a total of 541,000 shares for a total consideration in the region of $1 million.

Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (ASX: SIQ)

This salary packaging and fleet management company’s non-executive director, Ian Watt, has been buying its shares. Watt bought 10,000 shares through an on-market trade on 30 May for a total consideration of $79,900. This represents an average price of $7.99 per share.

The post Insiders are buying these 6 ASX All Ords shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• The worst three performing ASX 200 shares in May unmasked
• These ASX shares can rise 25% to 100%+
• Why Core Lithium, Fortescue, Peter Warren, and Talga shares are falling today
• Guess which ASX 200 billionaire is buying up big again
• 4 ASX 200 shares receiving broker upgrades

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Smartgroup. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aub Group and Eagers Automotive Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

“The share market is a scam!” “It’s rigged!” “Only the experts win at this.” I’ve heard all kinds of dismissive conclusions from people who tried buying shares and decided it’s not for them. It almost always boils down to one common mistake — a factor that, if properly considered, can pave the way to successful long-term investing.

How do I know if investing is worth it? It’s really quite simple. Take a look at the chart below.

Any investment in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) before February 2024 has grown in value. Yes, that means some investments made between February and today would be in the red. But that perfectly illustrates the market in itself.

The share market rewards the patient.

Yet, so many let this one dangerous approach derail the compounding train before it leaves the station.

Eyes bigger than one’s stomach

Ever heard of the saying ‘Never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry’? The same can be said for buying shares.

Our brains like to exaggerate. It’s how all-you-eat buffets make money — taking the arbitrage between what a customer thinks they can eat (and are willing to pay for) and what they can actually eat. More often than not, the eyes are bigger than the stomach.

To save yourself money and a bellyache, it’s important to know how hungry you are truly.

It turns out there’s a form of appetite in the investing world, too. It’s called risk appetite, sometimes referred to as risk tolerance. And instead of it being how many burgers you can stomach, it’s how much money you can lose without getting queasy.

Risk appetite works both ways, not just the ‘upside risk’. As you creep up along the risk curve, the prospect of losing money is real. Yet, many fixate on the ‘higher expected returns’ part and neglect the negative implications.

I hear stories repeatedly about people buying a speculative ASX small-cap because they think it ‘might’ return tenfold. Twelve months later, nursing a 90% loss, the same people swear off buying shares.

However, investing was never the problem. It was the lack of consideration given to their risk appetite.

Buying shares is like building a meal plan

What can you afford to consume based on your own personal circumstances?

Everyone faces a different situation. To milk the nutrition analogy further, someone with medical issues may need to consume less sugar than someone with a clean health bill. Some simply can’t stomach dairy due to intolerances.

Now imagine sugar and dairy are your speculative and growth investments. They may not fit into someone’s investment diet, and that’s fine! There are more ways to earn a return with defensive shares or blue chips.

What matters is asking yourself the question honestly before buying shares.

You don’t want to be halfway through the metaphorical investment cheesecake when you discover you are dairy intolerant.

The post Buying shares? Don’t fall prey to this commonly disastrous mistake appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• How ASX shares vs. property performed in May
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• What a pay rise for 2.6 million Aussies could mean for ASX shares
• Should you buy this defensive ASX 200 stock on a pullback?

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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.

In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down slightly to 7,758.1 points.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping:

Black Cat Syndicate Ltd (ASX: BC8)

The Black Cat Syndicate share price is down 14.5% to 29.5 cents. This morning, this gold developer announced firm commitments for a $36 million two-tranche placement to institutional and sophisticated investors. These funds are being raised at sizeable discount of $0.27 per new share. The proceeds will be used to support the restart of the 100% owned Paulsens Gold Operation. Managing Director, Gareth Solly, said: “We have now secured immediate funding to commence the major refurbishment works and the high-grade stockpile strategy at Paulsens. Planning for mobilisation of MACA Interquip and Cream Mining has commenced, with first gold expected to be processed in 2024.”

Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)

The Brainchip share price is down 3% to 24.7 cents. With both AMD and Nvidia announcing their latest artificial intelligence chips this week, investors may be heading to the exits in a hurry. After all, it is hard to see how Brainchip could ever compete with its rivals given their massive budgets and trusted brands. In addition, given how easily they could swallow up Brainchip, the lack of any takeover interest appears to indicate that they don’t see Brainchip’s technology as anything to take seriously.

Cooper Energy Ltd (ASX: COE)

The Cooper Energy share price is down 6.5% to 21.5 cents. This is despite the release of an investor briefing from the gas exploration and production company this morning. Its update outlined Cooper Energy’s commitment to the Southeast Australian gas market, with the company preparing for its next phase of growth in the Otway Basin, now referred to as the East Coast Supply Project. Cooper Energy also reaffirmed its FY 2024 guidance of group production of 60.5 – 64.0 TJe/d, production expenses $57 million to $63 million, and capital expenditure of $240 million to $280 million.

Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV)

The Lovisa share price is down a further 5% to $28.94. This has been driven by news that the fashion jewellery retailer’s highly regarded CEO, Victor Herrero, is stepping down from the role. He will leave in approximately 12 months after four years at the helm. And while Herrero will be replaced with the very experienced John Cheston from Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV), there are concerns that this CEO change could increase execution risks for Lovisa’s ambitious global expansion. Cheston is in charge of Smiggle, which is also in the process of expanding internationally. And not without a few hiccups along the way.

The post Why Black Cat, Brainchip, Cooper Energy, and Lovisa shares are dropping today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Lovisa. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Advanced Micro Devices, Lovisa, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Advanced Micro Devices, Lovisa, Nvidia, and Premier Investments. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

With the artificial intelligence revolution racing ahead, investors are increasingly on the lookout for ASX AI shares.

These represent an increasingly large basket of stocks that stand to benefit from the rise of self-thinking machines.

Few companies demonstrate the potential on offer here better than Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA). Amid booming demand for its generative AI chips, the Nvidia share price has rocketed 194% over the past year.

That gives the United States-based tech giant an eye-popping market cap of US$2.83 trillion (AU$4.24 trillion).

But it’s an ASX AI share we’re after here.

And one that offers instant diversity.

Namely Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK).

A diverse ASX AI share

Now HACK isn’t exactly an ASX AI share.

To be precise, it’s an ASX AI exchange traded fund (ETF). Which is where that instant diversity comes from.

The ETF currently holds 30 leading global companies with a focus on cybersecurity.

Its top four holdings are Broadcom Inc, Cisco Systems Inc, Crowdstrike Holdings Inc and Palo Alto Networks Inc.

According to Betashares’ website, the aim of this ASX ETF is to track the performance of an index (before fees and expenses) that provides exposure to the leading companies in the global cybersecurity sector.

On the subject of management fees and expenses, those run at 0.67% annually.

As for the returns (as at 30 April), the ASX AI share has returned 38.6% over 12 months. The five year returns average out to 15.2% annually.

Taking it to the hackers

Now, even without the rise of AI, the companies that HACK holds play a vital role in safeguarding personal, business and government data from malicious players.

Just last week, thousands of Aussies received an unwelcome reminder of how important these cyber defenders were when news broke that Ticketek had suffered a serious data breach.

“The available evidence at this time indicates that, from a privacy perspective, your name, date of birth and email address may have been impacted,” Ticketek emailed to impacted customers.

Federal Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil noted (quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald):

Ticketek advised the National Office of Cyber Security that they have experienced a cybersecurity incident impacting Ticketek Australia, and data belonging to their customers has been stolen.

The information we have so far indicates that this is a breach potentially affecting many Australians, but the data is likely limited to names, dates of births, and email addresses.

Fortunately, it appears the hackers were denied access to banking and other personal financial details.

But that might not be the case with their next efforts.

Which is why HACK qualifies as a top ASX AI share in my book.

You see, AI won’t just be used to help improve people’s lives. I’m sure these same malicious actors will employ the technology to steal whatever data it opens up for them.

And that should continue to drive plenty of growth opportunities for the companies held by the Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF.

The post 1 highly diversified ASX AI share to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF, Cisco Systems, CrowdStrike, Nvidia, and Palo Alto Networks. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Broadcom. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CrowdStrike and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a subdued session on Tuesday and is trading slightly lower. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down 0.1% to 7,754.1 points.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here’s why they are rising today:

Clarity Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: CU6)

The Clarity Pharmaceuticals share price is up 7.5% to $5.63. This is despite there being no news out of the clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company. However, it is worth noting that its shares have been on fire since last week when it announced that it has entered into a supply agreement with SpectronRx for the production of Cu-64. Management notes that Cu-64 has an ideal 12.7-hour half-life that helps to overcome the overwhelming supply restraints of current-generation radiodiagnostics. This significantly reduces the scheduling strain on imaging centres, as well as enhancing product performance with longer imaging timepoints.

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

The Life 360 share price is up 2.5% to $15.56. Investors have been buying the location technology company’s shares after it launched its Nasdaq IPO. Life360 estimates that it will receive net proceeds of approximately US$84.4 million from the offering. Management advised that the principal purposes of this IPO are to increase its capitalisation and financial flexibility and create a public market for its common stock in the United States.

Ramsay Health Care Ltd (ASX: RHC)

The Ramsay Health Care share price is up 3.5% to $48.67. This is despite there being no news out of the private hospital operator. However, with its shares down sharply over the last 12 months and trading within sight of a multi-year low, some investors may believe that now is a good time to snap them up. It is also worth noting that Ramsay Health Care has been the subject of takeover interest in the past.

Spartan Resources Ltd (ASX: SPR)

The Spartan Resources share price is up 4% to 76 cents. This has been driven by the release of a drilling update from the gold explorer this morning. The company notes that its deepest intercept to date confirms consistent thick mineralisation over 120m along-strike and 150m down-plunge at fast-growing high-grade discovery. Spartan CEO, Simon Lawson, said: “Just weeks after its discovery in May 2024, Pepper is already emerging as a significant new high-grade ore system immediately adjacent to our flagship deposit, the 0.95Moz Never Never Gold Deposit, discovered in 2022.”

The post Why Clarity Pharmaceuticals, Life360, Ramsay Health Care, and Spartan Resources shares are rising today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Life360. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Life360. 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.

S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank shares are among the most widely held equity investments in Australia.

And all of the big four Aussie banks have amply rewarded their shareholders over the years gone by.

But are they a good investment right now?

What’s happening with the big four ASX 200 bank shares?

At the time of writing on Tuesday, all four ASX 200 bank shares are in the green.

Trading in the green has been more the rule than the exception for the banks over the last 12 months, which has seen them race ahead of the benchmark index.

The ASX 200 has gained a healthy 7.3% since this time last year.

Here’s how the big banks have performed over this same period:

• Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) are up 23.8%
• National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares are up 33.4%
• Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares are up 29.0%
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are up 25.2%

And let’s not forget the passive income the banks offer with their twice-yearly dividend payouts.

Atop the share price gains listed above, here’s how much the ASX 200 bank shares are yielding at current prices:

• ANZ shares trade on a trailing dividend yield of2%
• NAB shares trade on a trailing dividend yield of 4.8%
• Westpac shares trade on a trailing dividend yield of 5.5%
• CBA shares trade on a trailing dividend yield of 3.7%

That all looks pretty appealing.

But with such strong share price gains already in the bag, a number of analysts are cautioning that the big banks are looking overvalued in the current economic environment.

With a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 20.8 times, CBA leads the pack from a stretched valuation perspective.

What are the experts saying?

The ASX 200 bank shares broadly exceeded consensus expectations recently in terms of their net interest margins (NIMs), a key metric for determining profitability.

Amid less fierce mortgage competition, NIMs were stabilising or even slightly higher than the prior half.

But that’s not enough to convince Infinity Asset Management portfolio manager Dominic Mlcek they deserve their current “lofty valuations“.

According to Mlcek (courtesy of The Australian):

In our view there wasn’t enough to provide a catalyst for a further re-rate higher from here and we do question the lofty valuations and significant outperformance by the big four over the past 12 months.

We’re not expecting a similar outcome moving forward.

Regardless of whether the RBA commences rate cuts in 2024 or into 2025, we view this as a negative environment for the banks. Additionally, the banks have flagged that tech costs will likely drive operating expense growth back above inflation.

Despite their solid balance sheets and his expectations that the big four ASX 200 bank shares will maintain their dividends at current levels, he added, “Given the lack of growth outlook in our view, we’re maintaining an underweight exposure towards the big four.”

Schroders head of Australian equities Martin Conlon also isn’t rushing out to buy ASX 200 bank shares.

“The volume growth does look to me to be anaemic at best and profits flat at best,” he said.

Conlon added:

We have very indebted consumers already. Getting them more indebted is tricky. Where do you go in Australia, given that you have got a lot of debt against residential property? It doesn’t seem healthy for the economy to shove more debt at that…

Unless you believe that they can take their nominal costs backwards, which very few companies have been able to do, then you end up saying it’s hard to come up with a picture that’s anything other than flat at best for bank profits.

The post Are ASX 200 bank shares a good investment right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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.

Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) shares are falling on Tuesday after iron ore weakness offset some interesting news.

At the time of writing, the mining giant’s shares are down 0.6% to $127.72.

What news was announced?

Rio Tinto has announced plans to invest US$143 million (A$215 million) to develop a research and development facility in Western Australia.

This is to further assess the effectiveness of its low-carbon ironmaking process, BioIron, to support decarbonising the global steel value chain.

According to the release, the development of the BioIron Research and Development Facility in the Rockingham Strategic Industrial Area, south of Perth, follows successful trials of the innovative ironmaking process in a small-scale pilot plant in Germany.

What is BioIron?

Rio Tinto advises that BioIron uses raw biomass and microwave energy instead of coal to convert Pilbara iron ore to metallic iron in the steelmaking process.

When combined with the use of renewable energy and carbon-circulation by fast-growing biomass, BioIron has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by a whopping 95% compared with the current blast furnace method.

And while the company acknowledges that it is aware of the complexities around the use of biomass supply, it is working to ensure only sustainable sources of biomass are used.

The mining giant’s BioIron facility will include a pilot plant that will be ten times bigger than the small-scale pilot plant in Germany. It will also be the first time the innovative steelmaking process has been tested at a semi-industrial scale. Management expects it to be capable of producing one tonne of direct reduced iron per hour.

Importantly, it will provide the required data for Rio Tinto to assess further scaling of the technology to a larger demonstration plant.

‘World-first technology’

Rio Tinto’s Iron Ore chief executive, Simon Trott, is excited by the technology and sees it as a way of helping to decarbonise the planet. He said:

The world needs low-carbon steel to reach net zero, and we are working to make this a reality by finding better ways to turn our Pilbara ores into steel. BioIron is a world-first technology that has the potential to play a significant role in a low-carbon steel future.

This research and development facility will further test the BioIron process, showcase Western Australian innovation capability, and further demonstrates Rio Tinto’s commitment to supporting and enabling the decarbonisation of the steel industry.

Rio Tinto shares are up almost 15% over the last 12 months.

The post Own Rio Tinto shares? Why this ‘world-first technology’ is making news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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.

Fund manager L1 Capital recently held an investor presentation and highlighted two S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares.

Some investors may choose to focus on the biggest companies like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL), but there may be other opportunities further down the market capitalisation list.

Indeed, smaller companies may be less monitored by analysts and investors, creating conditions for those ASX 200 shares to be undervalued.

Let’s dive into two companies L1 thinks are “low P/E stocks with enormous cash generation”.

BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX: BSL)

BlueScope is a steel producer operating in Asia Pacific and North America.

The fund manager described the company as resilient and diversified, with “commoditised” earnings streams protected by a downstream branded business (such as Colorbond and Truecore).

L1 thinks US steel markets are “structurally attractive”, and BlueScope has a strong industry position. The fund manager said BlueScope’s balance sheet has low levels of debt and that the company has the ability to use cash flow generated for increased shareholder payouts or acquisitions.

The business has a “track record” of shareholder returns and investments that deliver a strong return on invested capital (ROIC).

L1 said the ASX 200 share is trading at a significant discount to its North American steel peers which are trading at between six to eight times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). BlueScope, on the other hand, is trading at an “undemanding” valuation of around 4.5 times EBITDA.

The BlueScope Steel share price is almost 10% lower than where it started the year, as shown on the chart below.

AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL)

The other ASX 200 share that L1 pointed out was AGL. It’s the lowest-cost baseload generator in the key markets of Victoria and New South Wales. The company has “regulated assets with significant barriers to entry”, according to the fund manager.

L1 believes electricity demand is set to grow substantially over the medium term due to data centres, electric vehicles and AI.

The investment team suggests the business can generate strong free cash flow in the medium term, which can “fund high dividends and substantial investment” into the energy transition in areas like batteries, and make solid returns. The fund manager also said the management team at AGL is “disciplined”.

In terms of the valuation, L1 said the ASX energy share is valued at an enterprise value to EBITDA ratio of 4.5 times, which is “well below” its historical range of around six times.

The AGL share price has risen around 8% since the start of 2024, as we can see on the chart below.

The post 2 ASX 200 shares this fund manager rates as really cheap buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 CSL. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CSL. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) share price surged to an all-time high in trading on Monday, nudging $1.25 per share.

It opened trading around 1% higher on Tuesday and is currently swapping hands at $1.26 apiece. This brings the counter-drone technology company’s return to a staggering 240% this year to date.

It’s not often you see triple-digit returns in the first half of a year. So, what’s driving this excitement among investors to cause such a feeding frenzy?

CEO Oleg Vornik on growth and strategy

CEO Oleg Vornik has provided valuable insights into DroneShield’s strategic positioning and growth potential.

Speaking on a podcast hosted by Frazis Capital Partners, Vornik was questioned about the potential for a “five-year pathway to $300 to $500 million a year” in the company’s revenues. This is a 10-fold increase from the company’s $55 million revenues last year.

Vornik said the industry’s inflection point is when “customers have completed their certifications and trials; they know what they want; and need much more than what they currently have.”

“[W]e’re looking at the the market and we’re saying okay well customers need to buy 100 times more than what they purchased just because of [the] market situation…”.

This includes both military applications, but also the civilian markets, the counter-drone company CEO said.

Vornik also highlighted the company’s advantage in the hand-held category of the drone detection market. “We believe that there are no other credible providers to the US military right now” he said, adding it had “outperformed” other competitors in trials.

Contract wins helping DroneShield share price

DroneShield’s share price has been soaring in 2024 thanks to a number of catalysts.

Recently, the DroneShield share price spiked following a substantial $5.7 million repeat order from a United States government customer.

According to my colleague James, this order involves delivering DroneShield’s advanced Counter-UxS systems, which target drones across multiple terrains—air, ground, and maritime.

The company expects to complete these deliveries in stages throughout the remainder of 2024.

Growth is a key ingredient in this recipe as well. In its most recent results, the company reported $16.4 million in quarterly revenue â€“ a staggering 900% increase from the prior corresponding period.

Analysts have taken note of this strong performance. Bell Potter recently upgraded the DroneShield share price to a buy and $1.00 price target. This week’s price action has subsequently taken this target out.

The broker forecasts $97 million in sales this year against earnings of $24.4 million. If DroneShield hits these numbers, it will be another tremendous growth period— up 80% and 163% year over year, respectively.

Droneshield share price looking ahead

DroneShield’s strategic positioning in the counter-drone technology market could be another factor exciting investors.

Referring again to the handheld market, Vornik said it’s “the biggest, because it’s relatively cheap”.

Plus, it removes many hurdles for customers. “You don’t need integration”, he says. “In the military space, integration is a big headache because…you have these high thresholds”.

With DroneShield, you can “just invite your local it guide to plug a few cables in everything talks in different way”, he added.

“So no integration is actually really positive”.

The company’s sales pipeline is $519 million with $27 million of orders under contracted backlog. In my opinion, this is robust.

Conclusion

With growing financials, substantial contract wins, and a promising sales pipeline, DroneShield has caught the bid lately.

In the last 12 months, the DroneShield share price has rallied 400% into the green, outpacing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) by more than 392%.

The post Why are ASX investors so excited by the DroneShield share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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.