Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Stock Price Down 5.9% – Time to Sell?

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM)’s stock price fell 5.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $46.00 and last traded at $46.9510. 493,508 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 2,342,729 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. New Street Research began coverage on Iridium Communications in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price target on Iridium Communications from $25.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Iridium Communications from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Iridium Communications from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Iridium Communications from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.74, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.07). Iridium Communications had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The company had revenue of $219.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.39 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications Inc will post 1.05 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is 60.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Iridium Communications

In other Iridium Communications news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 3,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $117,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,480,684. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IRDM. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 789.1% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,042 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 6,250 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 11,143.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 45,198 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 44,796 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the first quarter worth $225,000. Essential Partners LLC lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 122.2% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Groupe la Francaise bought a new stake in Iridium Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $567,000. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Company Profile

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.