DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) shares have been out of form recently.
The counter drone technology company's shares finished last week at $3.03.
This is done a sizeable 31% from its recent record high of $4.39.
Though, it is worth noting that investors are still sitting on an incredible 12-month return of approximately 130% despite this recent pullback.
And the good news is that there are a couple of reasons why this pullback could be a buying opportunity for investors that missed out.
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Reasons to buy DroneShield shares
The first is that the company has just been added to the ASX 200 index at the September quarterly rebalance.
Joining the benchmark index is a big deal for any stock. This is because certain index funds will now need to buy DroneShield shares to reflect this change, boosting volume on the buy side.
In addition, some fund managers have strict investment mandates that prevent them from buying shares outside indices like the ASX 200 index. Its inclusion means that some fund managers will now have the opportunity to add its shares to their portfolios.
Another reason that it could be time to buy shares is that Bell Potter is tipping meaningful upside for them over the next 12 months.
Bullish broker
According to a recent note, the broker has named its on its Australian equities panel again in September.
Explaining what exactly its panel is, the broker said:
Our panel of favoured small cap Australian equities offer attractive returns over the long term. We back our analysts key conviction ideas as they uncover overlooked or underappreciated stories within the small cap universe.
And commenting on its inclusion on the panel, Bell Potter said:
DroneShield is an Australian defence manufacturer specialising in counterdrone technology. DRO provides an end-to-end counter-drone solution that integrates proprietary artificial intelligence software with a suite of hardware products utilised to detect, identify and defeat aerial, ground and maritime threats. The company's products are largely in-house technology and include handheld, vehicular and fixed installations. DRO's customers primarily include military and intelligence, as well as law enforcement, critical infrastructure and commercial parties globally.
Bel Potter currently has a buy rating and $3.70 price target on its shares. Based on its current share price, this implies potential upside of 22% for investors over the next 12 months.
Although the broker was disappointed that the company didn't win the Land156 government contract, it highlights that this is just a small slice of a huge sales pipeline. It concludes:
DRO's 1H25 performance demonstrates the significant growth that has occurred in the business in CY25, including the acceleration of both the scale and frequency of contracts. Whilst the Land156 update is disappointing, Australia represents <5% of DRO's $2.3b sales pipeline and the program was not included in our forecasts due to insufficient details regarding the structure and size of the program.
