The DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) share price is getting smashed today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) drone defence company – which joined the ASX 200 on 22 September – closed yesterday trading for $3.28. In earlier trade, shares crashed to $2.27 each, down 30.8%.
After some likely bargain hunting, shares are currently changing hands for $2.42 apiece, down 26.2%.
That's going to be rough news for investors who bought at, or near, the ASX defence stock's 9 October all-time closing high of $6.60 a share, who'll be nursing losses of 63.3% at the time of writing.
Though longer-term investors should still be sitting on some outsized gains, with the DroneShield share price still up an impressive 222.6% since 2 January.
Here's what's got investors reaching for their sell buttons today.
Image source: Getty Images
What's happening with the DroneShield share price?
There was no price-sensitive news out from the company today. And there's no indication of any immediate setbacks to its rapid growth plans in the global drone defence markets.
So the huge intraday losses for the DroneShield share price look to be tied into today's ASX announcement that CEO Oleg Vornik sold 14.81 million shares in the company between 6 November and 12 November. Those shares netted the DroneShield chief a tidy $49.47 million.
With several other directors also selling shares, it looks like a number of retail and institutional investors are taking the cue from management and reducing their exposure to the high-flying stock.
What's been happening with the ASX 200 defence stock?
As mentioned up top, despite today's large fall, the DroneShield share price remains up 223% year to date. And investors who bought shares five years ago will be sitting on jaw-dropping gains of 1,067%.
A quick peak at DroneShield's September quarter (Q3 2025) results, reported on 20 October, provides some valuable insight into that rapid growth.
For the three months to 30 September, the company saw its revenue leap 1,091% year on year to a record $92.9 million.
The company's cash receipts also notched an all-time high, surging 751% from Q3 2024 to $77.4 million.
In other core financial metrics, the ASX 200 defence stock's operating cash flow of $20.1 million was up from the $19.4 million quarterly loss reported a year earlier.
On the balance sheet, DroneShield ended the quarter with cash and equivalents of $212.8 million.
Looking ahead, the company aims to accelerate the development of its AI-powered solutions to drive ongoing growth.
Amid high market expectations, the DroneShield share price closed down 2.6% on the day of the results release.
