NEW YORK, June 3, 2026, 05:05 EDT
- Ondas shares pointed down in pre-market after finishing up on Tuesday.
- World View picked up a new catalyst with a $4.8 million, three-month maritime surveillance contract from the U.S. Navy SOUTHCOM.
- CEO Eric Brock moved to sell shares for tax withholding after vested stock units, according to a June 2 filing.
Ondas Inc. shares traded lower early Wednesday, with pre-market quotes at $13.30, about 2.1% below Tuesday’s $13.58 finish, according to Google Finance. The drop came after the company announced its World View unit picked up a U.S. Navy Southern Command maritime surveillance deal. Ondas had added 0.9% in the previous session.
Ondas is drawing investor interest as a defense robotics and autonomous-systems play, not just an old wireless name. Shares were active in premarket trade ahead of the 9:30 a.m. Eastern open. Nasdaq isn’t scheduled to close on June 3, according to its 2026 holiday calendar.
Ondas said Tuesday that World View landed a $4.8 million contract for three months to deliver high-altitude balloon systems. The deal is for a maritime domain awareness program to back counter-narcotics and illegal fishing work in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean. Maritime domain awareness is tracking and sharing sea activity data.
Ondas (market cap about $6.9 billion, per Google Finance) landed a small contract, but it’s a new U.S. defense reference for its World View stratospheric balloon operation, picked up this year. ISR—intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance—covers tech for collecting data on targets, terrain, or activity.
Eric Brock, chairman and CEO of Ondas, said World View being picked is “a clear validation” of stratospheric ISR. World View CEO Ryan Hartman called the award a sign of “trust built through execution.” Ondas Inc.
Ondas said it picked up a Navy-related contract just after its May 29 update, when the company reported more than $30 million in fresh orders for May. That pushed second-quarter orders so far above $110 million. The new orders include air defense and counter-UAS systems, which are used to spot or block drones, as well as loitering munitions, ISR, unmanned ground vehicles, and other robotic defense gear.
Brock called the orders “continued execution.” Oshri Lugassy, Ondas Autonomous Systems co-chief executive, said customers want “a connected mission architecture” instead of separate drones, robots or sensors. Ondas Inc.
Backlog is the key argument for bulls on the stock. Ondas posted Q1 revenue of $50.1 million, claimed a pro forma backlog of $457 million, and raised its 2026 revenue goal to at least $390 million. Backlog refers to work signed but not yet counted as revenue.
Brock filed a Form 144 on June 2 to sell 2,378,245 shares worth about $32.0 million, the filing said, to cover possible tax withholding linked to RSUs. The next day, a Form 4 disclosed Brock picked up 4.5 million shares from vested RSUs and then sold 2,378,245 shares at $13.43, which left him with 3,583,010 shares in hand.
The difference matters, but it’s unlikely to ease near-term pressure. Insider selling—even if it’s for taxes—can hit sentiment, especially after a stock runs up and the latest contract is just an initial award, not a long-term deal.
The pace of competition is picking up. Reuters said last week the Trump administration was in talks to fund U.S. drone makers, sending up shares of Red Cat, Kratos Defense and AeroVironment. Ondas was not listed in the Reuters story, but the trade has helped shine attention on smaller autonomous defense suppliers.
Ondas faces a new challenge now: converting orders and backlog into shipped systems, revenue, and cash flow. The company needs to make recent defense acquisitions work. Adjusted EBITDA losses are expected to remain high through the second quarter, Ondas said, but should get better later this year.
Related articles: NASDAQ:ONDS
