Big institutional investments often shine a spotlight on companies that many investors may have overlooked. That’s exactly what happened after BlackRock (BLK) disclosed a new 7.2% passive stake in Ondas (ONDS) through a Schedule 13G filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, revealing ownership of 38.1 million shares.
The move has put the spotlight back on Ondas, a company developing autonomous systems and advanced technology products for defense and industrial markets – two sectors drawing growing investor interest. The timing is particularly interesting.
More Top Stocks Daily: Go behind Wall Street’s hottest headlines with Barchart’s Active Investor newsletter.
Despite announcing multiple defense contracts and strategic acquisitions this year, Ondas’ shares have struggled to shake off bearish pressure, with the stock down 25.2% in 2026 and short interest holding above 30% for over five months. BlackRock’s investment has now sparked fresh optimism, helping ONDS stock move higher and putting the company back on investors’ radar.
With stronger institutional backing and elevated short interest, some investors are now wondering whether sentiment could begin to shift, or even set the stage for a potential short squeeze. In simple terms, a short squeeze occurs when rising prices force bearish traders to buy back shares, pushing the stock even higher.
Let’s take a closer look at Ondas now.
About Ondas Stock
Headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, Ondas develops autonomous technologies and private wireless solutions for industries where reliability and security matter most. Currently, having a market capitalization of $4.3 billion, the company operates through Ondas Autonomous Systems (OAS) and Ondas Networks.
Its autonomous systems business provides AI-powered drones, ground robots, counter-drone technologies, and other advanced platforms used by defense, homeland security, public safety, and critical infrastructure customers worldwide. Meanwhile, its networks division delivers software-defined wireless broadband technology that supports mission-critical communications across sectors such as rail, utilities, transportation, energy, and government. Together, these businesses help customers improve surveillance, connectivity, operational efficiency, and decision-making in increasingly complex environments.
ONDS stock has delivered plenty of twists and turns for investors over the past year. After tumbling to a 52-week low of $2.01 last August, shares of the autonomous defense technology provider staged a remarkable comeback, climbing as much as 307.5% from those lows. The rally gathered pace in early 2026, with ONDS hitting a high of $15.28 in January. While the stock has since given back a sizable portion of those gains, it remains up an impressive 252.9% over the past 52 weeks.
Regardless, the ride this year has not been smooth. ONDS is down 25.2% year-to-date (YTD) and has fallen 27.2% over the past three months.
Even so, positive catalysts have continued to spark buying interest. On July 21, shares jumped about 11.5%, extending gains from the previous session after Ondas announced a $6.9 million order from the Australian Department of Defence for its DTIM Single Operator Counter-sUAS Kits through DZYNE Technologies, now part of Ondas Sentinel.
Then, on July 30, the stock moved higher in after-hours trading after BlackRock disclosed a 7.2% stake, reviving optimism around the company amid its elevated short interest.
Technically, the setup appears to be improving. The 14-day RSI sits at 45.13, suggesting the stock is neither overbought nor oversold, while the MACD line has crossed above the signal line, accompanied by positive histogram bars, indicating that buying momentum may be returning and the recent downtrend could stabilize.
www.barchart.com Despite attracting fresh investor attention, ONDS stock’s valuation is not as stretched as some might expect. Priced at 13.97 times forward GAAP price-to-earnings, it sits below the sector average. Even though its forward price-to-sales ratio of 8.22 times is higher than that of the peers, it trades below the historical average. It suggests the valuation still offers a fairly balanced risk-reward profile.
A Closer Look at Ondas’ Q1 Numbers
If BlackRock’s investment put Ondas in the spotlight, the company’s Q1 earnings results in May explained why the business has been attracting growing attention. Ondas delivered much stronger-than-expected numbers, with revenue soaring to $50.1 million – more than ten times higher than the same period last year and 66% sequentially. It exceeded the high end of management’s own guidance by 25%, reflecting strong execution under its Core + Strategic Growth Program.
Growth was fueled by rising demand across its portfolio, particularly counter-drone systems, along with solid contributions from Bird Aerosystems’ sensor technologies and ground systems. The company also swung to a profit, reporting earnings of $0.56 per share compared with a loss of -$0.15 per share in the year-ago quarter.
Ondas entered the rest of the year with significant visibility into future business. Its pro forma backlog climbed to $457 million following the acquisitions of Mistral and World View Enterprises, up from $68.3 million at the end of 2025. That sharp increase reflects rising global demand for autonomous drones, counter-UAS solutions, and defense robotics, while the acquisitions further expanded the company’s capabilities and customer reach.
Demand across the defense market also continues to work in Ondas’ favor. As governments increase spending in response to evolving security threats and geopolitical tensions, the company’s counter-drone platforms, including Sentrycs and Iron Drone, are seeing robust global demand. Management noted that demand for Sentrycs’ CoRF technology has exceeded earlier expectations, prompting the company to increase production. Its ground-based business is also gaining momentum, supported by major contract wins worth roughly $220 million secured by 4M Defense and INDO Earth early this year.
Ondas has also been building strategic partnerships. It announced a comprehensive collaboration with Palantir Technologies (PLTR) in Q1, giving its autonomous platforms access to Palantir’s AI software ecosystem. The partnership could improve manufacturing, supply-chain management, mission planning, and battlefield command capabilities while supporting AI-driven intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and defense operations for both commercial and military customers.
Acquisitions are becoming another important growth engine. Management believes Mistral strengthens its position as a prime contractor in the U.S., while World View significantly expands its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities through high-altitude stratospheric platforms. The deals deepen Ondas’ relationships with U.S. defense customers and broaden its presence across multiple defense programs.
Looking ahead, management is optimistic, expecting at least $390 million in revenue for fiscal 2026, implying roughly 670% annual growth, supported by its expanding backlog and expectations for additional acquisitions. Although adjusted EBITDA losses are expected to remain elevated in Q2 as the company invests ahead of a much larger revenue ramp in the second half of the year, management believes those investments will begin paying off as scale improves.
The company is gearing up to release its Q2 2026 earnings report on Thursday, Aug. 13, before the market opens. Analysts tracking Ondas see fiscal Q2 2026 revenue to be around $67.97 million, while they anticipate the company to incur a loss of $0.09 per share. Zooming out, loss per share is expected to narrow 46.8% YOY to $0.33 in fiscal 2026 and then shrink by another 36.4% annually to $0.21 per share in fiscal 2027.
What Do Analysts Expect for Ondas Stock?
Overall, analysts are upbeat about ONDS’s growth potential, giving the stock a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”, and that's an upgrade from the “Moderate Buy” rating three months ago. Of the nine analysts currently covering the stock, seven advise a “Strong Buy,” one recommends a “Moderate Buy,” and only one is playing it safe with a “Hold.”
The average analyst price target for ONDS is $18.61, indicating potential upside of 153.9%. The Street-high target price of $25 suggests that the stock could rally as much as 241.1% from here.
www.barchart.com 
www.barchart.com On the date of publication, Sristi Suman Jayaswal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
More news from Barchart
Why BlackRock Is Betting Big on Ondas Stock Now How Server CPUs Could Give AMD Stock a Big Boost After August 4 Apple vs. HP: The $5 Trillion Giant, or the Stock That Pays 15x the Dividend. This Analyst Just Downgraded Apple Stock. Here's Why.