Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company.

Iridium Communications Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of IRDM stock opened at $27.55 on Friday. Iridium Communications has a 1-year low of $24.14 and a 1-year high of $35.85. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.16. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The firm had revenue of $212.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.78 million. On average, analysts predict that Iridium Communications will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total transaction of $356,625.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 241,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,876,585.90. This represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRDM. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,269,883 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $130,018,000 after purchasing an additional 36,851 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,829,052 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $82,099,000 after purchasing an additional 320,506 shares in the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its holdings in Iridium Communications by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,827,580 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $82,028,000 after buying an additional 329,915 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Iridium Communications by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 2,507,715 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,774,000 after buying an additional 134,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 44.7% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,213,512 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,125,000 after buying an additional 683,777 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Company Profile

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.