Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Downgraded to "Sell" Rating by BWS Financial

Key Points

• Iridium Communications has been downgraded from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating by BWS Financial, with a price target of $16.00, indicating a potential downside of 21.55% from its current price.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts maintain a more positive outlook, with Raymond James issuing a "strong-buy" rating and setting a target of $39.00, while the average target price across analysts is $32.83.
• The company recently reported a quarterly earnings miss with $0.20 EPS compared to estimates of $0.23, although it showed year-over-year revenue growth of 7.9% to $216.91 million.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at BWS Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $16.00 price target on the technology company's stock. BWS Financial's price objective points to a potential downside of 21.55% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down from $47.00) on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays reduced their target price on Iridium Communications from $38.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Iridium Communications from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.83.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

IRDM traded down $1.00 on Tuesday, hitting $20.40. 643,769 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,441,916. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.78. Iridium Communications has a 12 month low of $19.91 and a 12 month high of $35.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.91.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Iridium Communications will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Iridium Communications

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Iridium Communications by 95.1% during the 1st quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 4,891,677 shares of the technology company's stock worth $133,641,000 after purchasing an additional 2,383,962 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 37.6% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,893,145 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $106,361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064,093 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 3,889,045 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $106,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061,465 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Iridium Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $19,978,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Iridium Communications by 82.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,447,889 shares of the technology company's stock worth $39,556,000 after buying an additional 653,201 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company's stock.

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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