Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) shares 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 changing 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 note on Monday, October 21st. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Iridium Communications Stock Down 1.3 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.21. 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 has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.48 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Iridium Communications declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, September 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 14.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Iridium Communications

In other Iridium Communications news, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 254,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,489,277.36. This represents a 13.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $130,301.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares in the company, 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 Trading of Iridium Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRDM. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 143,049 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,296,000 after acquiring an additional 21,857 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 19.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 856,901 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,093,000 after purchasing an additional 137,924 shares in the last quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $922,000. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in Iridium Communications by 205.3% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 28,648 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 19,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the 3rd quarter worth $4,614,000. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.