Rheinmetall Director Spends €288 Million on Company Stock as Shares Tumble to 52-Week Low

Rheinmetall board member's €288M share purchase at 52-week low signals undervaluation. Stock down 31% YTD despite Q1 revenue growth and new drone production.

René Gansauge, a member of Rheinmetall’s executive board, has placed a colossal bet on the defence group’s future, acquiring more than 246,000 shares at an average price of around €1,172. The transaction, executed in several tranches, represents an outlay of roughly €288 million — a powerful vote of confidence from an insider that market observers typically interpret as a strong signal the stock is undervalued.

The massive purchase came on a day when the shares hit a new 52-week low of €1,115.80, before extending losses to trade near €1,105 in the afternoon. Part of Wednesday’s slide was mechanical: Rheinmetall began trading ex-dividend after the annual general meeting approved a payout of €11.50 per share for fiscal 2025, a 42% increase from the prior year. The total distribution amounts to €369 million, with payment due on May 15. But the dividend adjustment only compounds a deeper rout — the stock has now shed about 31% since the start of the year and sits nearly 45% below its 52-week high of almost €1,995 reached last September.

A combination of anxieties has weighed on the name. Doubts about the operational delivery of Rheinmetall’s ambitious growth plan, speculation over a potential thaw in the Ukraine conflict and a broader re-rating of defence stocks have all taken their toll. Against that backdrop, the first-quarter numbers, released earlier, appeared solid: revenue climbed 8% to €1.94 billion and operating profit rose 17%. Yet the market has focused more on headwinds than on the strong underlying performance.

Operationally, the group is pushing ahead with its transformation into a global defence powerhouse. On Tuesday, Rheinmetall began series production of the FV-014 kamikaze drone at its Neuss facility, expanding capacities beyond its existing Braunschweig site. The German armed forces have already placed an order worth roughly €300 million for the system, and a framework agreement allows for follow-up orders. The unmanned aircraft is assembled in Germany, with its warhead sourced from Italy. First deliveries from the new production line are scheduled for next year.

In parallel, Rheinmetall announced a cooperation with Deutsche Telekom at the AFCEA security fair in Bonn, aimed at protecting cities and critical infrastructure against drones and sabotage. Under the partnership, Rheinmetall supplies sensor technology and countermeasures — including jammers, interceptor drones and potentially laser systems — while Telekom contributes its mobile?network expertise. The collaboration addresses a growing threat: drones controlled via mobile networks rather than conventional radio frequencies pose novel challenges for authorities. Rheinmetall already has a track record in this area, having partnered with Hamburg police and the Hamburg Port Authority since last December to defend the harbour from drone incursions.

The company’s first quarter was not without hiccups. Around €300 million in revenue, mainly from truck systems, was postponed at customers’ request, creating a lumpy start to the year. Management expects a significant acceleration in the second quarter and continues to stand by its full-year guidance of up to €14.5 billion in sales. Looking further ahead, the board has set a target of €50 billion in revenue by 2030, underpinned by plans to scale up production of cruise missiles and develop civil drone?defence shields.

Several analysts regard the recent sell?off as overdone. Warburg Research upgraded the stock from “Hold” to “Buy,” albeit with a reduced price target of €1,550. Barclays and MWB Research remain bullish with targets of €1,450 and €2,000 respectively. The consensus analyst price target stands at roughly €2,011 — implying an upside of about 82% from current levels. Even the most conservative estimate among the analyst community would still point to a meaningful recovery.

The insider buying from Gansauge, combined with the group’s expanding production footprint and strategic partnerships, suggests that Rheinmetall’s leadership sees the current share price as disconnected from the company’s long?term trajectory. With more than 300,000 job applications received last year and a workforce growing rapidly, the operational and personnel foundations for the projected expansion are firmly in place — the market, for now, remains to be convinced.