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

Key Points

• Iridium Communications Inc experienced a significant increase in short interest, rising 47.4% in September to 12,780,000 shares, representing approximately 13.8% of the company's total shares.
• Institutional investors now hold 84.36% of Iridium's stock, with several funds increasing their stakes during the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have lowered target prices for Iridium, with consensus rating shifts showing a mix of Buy, Hold, and Sell ratings, leading to a current average target price of $29.67.

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 12,780,000 shares, a growth of 47.4% from the August 31st total of 8,670,000 shares. Approximately 13.8% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.4 days. Approximately 13.8% of the company's shares are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the first quarter worth about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 129.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,379 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Iridium Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Iridium Communications by 37.2% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,757 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Iridium Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on IRDM shares. BWS Financial cut shares of Iridium Communications from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $16.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Iridium Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $39.00 to $26.00 in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $31.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.67.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IRDM traded down $0.60 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.42. 2,727,746 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,715,260. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82. The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.32. Iridium Communications has a 52-week low of $17.08 and a 52-week high of $35.85.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.03). Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm had revenue of $216.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.73 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. Iridium Communications's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Iridium Communications will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost from Iridium Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

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.

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