The news: Defence tech company DroneShield has seen its share...

The news: Defence tech company DroneShield has seen its share price bounce as much as 10%, regaining much of what it lost after announcing its half-year results on Tuesday.The numbers: DroneShield shares surged in early trading on Wednesday to sit up 8.5% around midday. With shares trading at $1.27, the volatile stock is down 13% this month but still up 235% since the start of the year.Bell Potter, one of the few brokers to cover the stock, upgraded its price target to $1.35 from $1.25 on Wednesday, despite DroneShield missing most of the broker's estimates, including undershooting revenue, EBITDA and net profit after tax while overshooting operating expense.In response to the results, analyst Daniel Laing lowered his expectations for earnings per share by 6% this calendar year but raised it by 2% in 2025.The context: Bell Potter rationalised its price target upgrade as a result of being overly conservative previously. The broker pointed to a cash balance of $230 million and a re-rating of mid-cap defence names as justification for the 8% lift in its valuation.What they said: "We remain confident the company will deliver a significantly improved 2H performance based on 1) the significant level of inventory on hand to facilitate rapid fulfilment, 2) the historical seasonality of the business with >70% of CY23 revenue recorded in the 2H and 3) numerous near-term sales opportunities including recently," Laing wrote.