Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $29.72, but opened at $30.59. Iridium Communications shares last traded at $30.53, with a volume of 20,499 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BWS Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 2.4 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.22. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.60 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $212.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $205.68 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 14.34%. As a group, analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 19th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 14.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total value of $130,301.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 182,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,388,855.56. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total transaction of $1,127,253.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 254,824 shares in the company, valued at $7,489,277.36. This trade represents a 13.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 143,049 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,296,000 after purchasing an additional 21,857 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 856,901 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,093,000 after purchasing an additional 137,924 shares during the period. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $922,000. XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 205.3% during the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 28,648 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $872,000 after purchasing an additional 19,263 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,614,000. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

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.