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

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,050,000 shares, an increase of 6.3% from the October 15th total of 6,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.5 days. Currently, 7.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IRDM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BWS Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total value of $1,127,253.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 254,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,489,277.36. This trade represents a 13.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $130,301.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 182,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,388,855.56. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Iridium Communications

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IRDM. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 7,684.6% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 109.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,491 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Iridium Communications stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $28.59. 1,269,676 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,086,796. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 30.41 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50-day moving average is $29.41 and its 200-day moving average is $28.30. Iridium Communications has a 12-month low of $24.14 and a 12-month high of $41.66.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The business had revenue of $212.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $205.68 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Iridium Communications will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 19th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 14.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc provides mobile voice and data communications services and products to businesses, the United States and international governments, non-governmental organizations, and consumers worldwide. The company offers postpaid mobile voice and data satellite communications; prepaid mobile voice satellite communications; push-to-talk; broadband data; and Internet of Things (IoT) services.