Drone-related stocks, AeroVironment soar on Middle East strife

Unusual Machines

02/03/2026 14:51

Updates stock activity, adds firms

** Drone-related stocks soar on Mon as Iran conflict intensifies, drags Middle East region into war

** U.S.-Israeli strikes and Iranian retaliation over the weekend reverberate globally across various sectors

** AeroVironment AVAV.O jumping 17% to over 1-month high, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions KTOS.O up 8%, Red Cat Holding RCAT.O up 26%

** Unusual Machines UMAC.A, which sells ultra-low latency video goggles for drone pilots, up ~11%

** Shares of nLIGHT LASR.O, provider of high-power semiconductor and fiber lasers for aerospace and defense applications including countering unmanned systems, up 14% to fresh record highs

** Canada's ZenaTech ZENA.O, specializing in AI drone solutions in agriculture, defense and logistics sectors, up 7%

** U.S. defense firms such as Lockheed Martin LMT.N and RTX RTX.N both climb >3% on the session

    ** Broader NYSE Arca Defense Index .DFII up 2% on Mon, about 2% shy of intraday all-time high hit in Jan

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))