Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Upgraded by New Street Research to Buy Rating

Key Points

• New Street Research upgraded Iridium Communications from neutral to buy, adding to a mixed analyst backdrop that currently leaves the stock with an overall Hold consensus and an average target price of $38.67.
• Iridium’s latest earnings beat on revenue but missed on profits: quarterly revenue was $225.24 million, above estimates, but EPS came in at $0.09 versus the expected $0.26.
• The stock has rallied sharply, trading around $47.95 with a 52-week range of $15.65 to $57.18, while institutional investors continue to hold the majority of shares at 84.36%.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at New Street Research from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Iridium Communications from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, April 24th. William Blair cut shares of Iridium Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.67.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Shares of IRDM stock traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $47.95. The stock had a trading volume of 835,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,471,050. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 48.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.37. Iridium Communications has a twelve month low of $15.65 and a twelve month high of $57.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.74, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $225.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.32 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Iridium Communications will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 107.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the technology company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 392.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Iridium Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Iridium Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Iridium Communications by 10,363.2% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,988 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,969 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company's stock.

More Iridium Communications News

Here are the key news stories impacting Iridium Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Iridium said its revenue came in at $225.24 million, topping analyst estimates of $220.32 million, which suggests the company’s top line remained resilient despite the earnings miss.
• Positive Sentiment: The company reported 3.8% year-over-year revenue growth, showing continued demand for its global satellite voice, data and PNT services.
• Neutral Sentiment: Iridium also noted progress on strategic initiatives and highlighted that the Rocket Lab acquisition is still on track for a mid-2027 closing, giving investors a longer-term deal backdrop.
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted and reported earnings came in below expectations, with EPS of $0.09 in the release cited by several outlets versus the $0.26 consensus, which may be limiting upside in the stock.

About Iridium Communications

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.

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