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

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)’s stock price 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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

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

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $212.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.68 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 14.34%. Analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Iridium Communications news, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 254,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,489,277.36. The trade was a 13.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $130,301.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,388,855.56. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 109.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,491 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 322.1% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,735 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,324 shares during the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.