Drone Tech Maker’s 1,000% Surge Shows Latest Wall Street Fad

The eye-popping market debut of a tiny drone software company this week reveals a newfound investor appetite for stocks that fall at the intersection of geopolitics, defense technology and artificial intelligence.

Shares of Austin, Texas-based Swarmer Inc., whose AI platform is used to deploy and coordinate drone swarms, soared nearly 1,000% in the first three trading sessions after its initial public offering. Though the stock has retreated from its peak and closed down 30% to $36.71 on Friday, shares are still up 634% from their IPO price of $5.