Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Stock Price Down 5.9% – Should You Sell?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IRDM. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $25.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, April 24th. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 47.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.31.

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

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Iridium Communications

In related news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 2,043 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.00, for a total transaction of $67,419.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 45,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,793. This represents a 4.28% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Iridium Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 265.8% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,039,731 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $53,074,000 after acquiring an additional 2,208,857 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 651.1% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 2,309,750 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,143,000 after acquiring an additional 2,002,232 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 226.3% during the 3rd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 2,012,077 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395,485 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Iridium Communications by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 6,490,108 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $113,317,000 after buying an additional 1,156,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silver Heights Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc now owns 5,189,703 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $90,612,000 after acquiring an additional 961,440 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.