In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record another decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.1% to 8,946.6 points.
Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they are rising:
DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO)
The DroneShield share price is up 3% to $6.25. This follows the announcement of the launch of the counter drone technology company's latest artificial intelligence (AI) software release. DroneShield revealed breakthrough drone disruption techniques, expanded AI detection, and new interoperability features. It feels these highlight its continued expansion as the end-to-end counter-drone solutions provider. The company's CEO, Oleg Vornik, said: "This release reflects DroneShield's ongoing growth as the world's most trusted end-to-end counter-drone provider. In an era where drones are increasingly used to disrupt civil society and democracies, staying ahead of the threat is essential."
James Hardie Industries PLC (ASX: JHX)
The James Hardie share price is up 10% to $33.22. Investors have been buying the building materials company's shares following the release of its preliminary second quarter results. For the three months ended 30 September, James Hardie expects to report net sales of US$1.29 billion to US$1.30 billion and adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of 26 US cents to 27 US cents. This was better than the market was expecting, with consensus estimates at US$1.19 billion for net sales 15 US cents for earnings per share. James Hardie's CEO, Aaron Erter, said: "Our Siding & Trim sales performance exceeded the expectations reflected in our modeling considerations. Siding & Trim second quarter organic net sales fell low single-digits vs. the prior year, and distributors and dealers reduced inventory less than we had anticipated."
Lifestyle Communities Ltd (ASX: LIC)
The Lifestyle Communities share price is up 5.5% to $5.64. This morning, this struggling retirement communities developer released a trading update which revealed that "positive progress" was made in the first quarter. The company's CEO, Henry Ruiz, said, "After a challenging start to the financial year following an unexpected VCAT finding, I am proud of the commitment our team have demonstrated toward our homeowners and future prospects, and this was reflected in the pleasing sales performance in Q1 of FY26."
Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB)
The Mesoblast share price is up 11% to $2.97. This may have been driven by a broker note out of Bell Potter this morning. Its analysts have retained their buy rating on the biotechnology company's shares with an improved price target of $4.00. They said: "Next catalyst for MSB – September quarter revenue due to be published at the end of the month. We expect Ryoncil revenues of ~US$13m, however, the December quarter is now shaping up as the breakout period following announcement of the J-Code. We retain our Buy (Speculative) recommendation increasing the valuation to $4.00 (from $3.50). The quarterly cash flow is also expected to show a large reduction in cash burn as cash inflows from product sales of Ryoncil commence."
