Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,456,818 shares, a drop of 24.3% from the March 15th total of 7,208,131 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,156,311 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 5.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on IRDM shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Iridium Communications from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $25.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Iridium Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.60.

Iridium Communications Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of IRDM traded down $1.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.85. The company had a trading volume of 3,868,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,412,549. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.80. Iridium Communications has a 1-year low of $15.65 and a 1-year high of $44.36. The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.48.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.12% and a return on equity of 24.01%. The business had revenue of $212.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $219.14 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Iridium Communications will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Iridium Communications news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 2,043 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.00, for a total transaction of $67,419.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 45,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,793. This trade represents a 4.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IRDM. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 33.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 48,325 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 11,985 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 1,243.0% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 40,479 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after buying an additional 37,465 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 16.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 232,231 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,345,000 after buying an additional 33,191 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Iridium Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 16.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 539,566 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $14,741,000 after buying an additional 75,060 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc operates a global satellite communications network that delivers voice and data services across land, sea and air. The company’s unique architecture relies on a constellation of 66 low-Earth orbit satellites, enabling real-time connectivity in regions beyond the reach of terrestrial wireless networks. Iridium’s core offerings include satellite voice and messaging services, broadband data terminals, push-to-talk (PTT) interoperability and machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Iridium serves a diverse range of markets, including maritime shipping, aviation, government and defense, energy, and enterprise.