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Australian counter-drone manufacturer DroneShield has made major investment news with investors spooked and a chaotic share price journey.
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Shares in the US publicly listed technology company have drastically fallen over the past week following massive market capitalisation reportedly equating to approximately $2 billion.
The company has since entered a trading halt with a price query undertaken by ASX Limited and answered by DroneShield on 16 July.
DroneShield stated it is not aware of any information concerning it that has not been announced to the market that could explain the recent trading in its securities, according to the statement.
However, it was aware of a news article featuring comments from Sublime Funds Management director Rodney Forrest that Forrest had shorted the stock.
“Its valuation is wild," Forrest reportedly told Capital Brief.
It’s currently unknown what has so severely spooked investors, however, DroneShield had previously experienced a meteoric rise in recent months.
The company listed on the ASX in 2016 at $0.20 cents, trekking to $0.31 cents by December 2023, before rocketing upward to a high of $2.72 on 16 July. Panic-selling began this week with the share price falling to $1.57 on 17 July and slightly rebounding to where it now stands at $1.77 (as of 17 July).
Earlier this year, in June, DroneShield announced it had opened its new headquarters in Pyrmont, committing to triple its research and development and manufacturing capacity to AU$400 million annually.
It was announced that DroneShield’s 120 local staff will be based at the new Pyrmont site, which the company outlined has a floor for advanced R&D, engineering, and manufacturing to support its customer base in 70 countries. The 2,000-square-metre facility also features additional space for expansion.
In addition, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles paid a visit to the Australian counter-drone developer following a recent $4.7 million contract awarded to the company by an international customer in June.
