Droneshield among the 5 most popular ASX shares of 2H FY25

The ASX 200 defence tech company is a popular investment, according to trading data from Stake.

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Key points

  • DroneShield's Prominent Standing: DroneShield, with its strong 357% share price increase over the last year, has emerged as one of the top five most bought ASX shares in the second half of FY25, benefiting from heightened global defence spending.
  • Stake's Ambition Report Highlights Popular Shares: Alongside DroneShield, Stake identified Fortescue, BHP, Zip, and Mineral Resources as the other most popular ASX shares during 2H FY25, reflecting varied investor interests in sectors like mining, technology, and buy now, pay later services.
  • Market Performance and Analyst Ratings: While Macquarie offers varied ratings across these stocks, Bell Potter’s optimism about DroneShield highlights anticipated benefits from increased global defence spending.

The DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) share price is $4.67, down 6.4% as the broader market also shifts lower following yesterday's fresh record high.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is currently 0.8% lower at 8,997.5 points.

Droneshield shares are on a list released by online trading platform provider, Stake, that reveals the five most bought ASX shares of the second half of the 2025 financial year (2H FY25).

Let's take a look.

Droneshield among top 5 ASX shares of 2H FY25

In its just-released Ambition Report, Stake revealed the five most popular ASX shares bought by its customers over 2H FY25.

They are as follows.

1. Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG)

The Fortescue share price is $19.98, up 0.88% today and up 0.4% over the past 12 months.

Fortescue reported record iron ore shipments but a 41% fall in profit for FY25, largely due to lower commodity prices.

The ASX 200 iron ore giant has been a favourite among investors for its dividends in recent years. However, times have changed.

Fortescue's final dividend for FY25, 60 cents per share fully franked, was a third lower than the final payment in FY24.

The total annual Fortescue dividend was $1.10 per share, which gives Fortescue a respectable annual trailing dividend yield of 5.5%.

Macquarie has an underperform rating on Fortescue with a 12-month share price target of $16.50.

2. BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

The BHP share price is $43.34, down 1% today and up 0.8% over the past 12 months.

The diversified ASX 200 mining giant also reported a substantial fall in profit for FY25.

BHP revealed a 26% drop in profit in FY25, and paid a final fully franked dividend of 91.927255 cents per share following conversion of the 60 US-cent per share dividend.

The full-year dividend was US$1.10 per BHP share, which was 25% lower than FY24.

While iron ore is still at the heart of BHP's operations, it is also now the world's largest copper producer.

You can check out the miner's FY26 outlook on copper here and its outlook on the iron ore price here.

Macquarie has a neutral rating on BHP with a share price target of $42.

3. Droneshield Ltd (ASX: DRO)

The Droneshield share price is up 357% over the past 12 months.

The counter-drone technology developer is benefiting from a substantial increase in global defence spending amid geopolitical tensions with China and Russia.

Droneshield entered the benchmark ASX 200 Index at the September rebalance.

Find out how this may be supporting the share price here.

Earlier this month, Bell Potter ranked Droneshield shares as one of its best buying ideas.

4. Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP)

The Zip share price is $4.46, down 2.1% on Friday and up 55% over the past year.

Zip reported full-year cash earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBTDA) of $170.3 million, up 147%, in FY25.

The buy now, pay later company also increased its operating margin from 7.9% in FY24 to 15.8% for FY25.

Total transaction volume rose by 30.3% to $13.1 billion, while total income of $1.08 billion was up 23.5%.

UBS has a buy rating on Zip shares with a price target of $4.50.

5. Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN)

The Mineral Resources share price is $42.25, down 0.5% today and down 10.5% over the past 12 months.

Bell Potter has a buy rating on Mineral Resources with an upgraded share price target of $49 per share.

Macquarie has an underperform rating on Mineral Resources with a $43.63 price target.

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in BHP Group and Zip Co. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended DroneShield and Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BHP Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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