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

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,510,000 shares, an increase of 22.2% from the February 28th total of 10,240,000 shares. Currently, 13.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,220,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IRDM. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Iridium Communications

In related news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total transaction of $356,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 241,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,876,585.90. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRDM. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 45.4% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,162 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 529.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,512 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 2,113 shares during the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Stock Down 4.3 %

Shares of IRDM traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $25.88. 167,701 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,113,597. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $29.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.46. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.66. Iridium Communications has a 52 week low of $24.14 and a 52 week high of $35.85.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.16. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 13.58%. The business had revenue of $212.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.78 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is 58.95%.

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.