Morgan Stanley Boosts Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Price Target to $54.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Iridium Communications from $26 to $54, while keeping an equal weight rating on the stock. The new target implies little downside from the prior close.
• Other analysts remain mixed on IRDM, with recent targets ranging from $16 to $60 and a consensus rating of Hold. MarketBeat shows a consensus price target of $38.67.
• Iridium’s shares have surged, opening at $54.59, near their 12-month high of $55.17, after the company reported mixed quarterly results that included an EPS miss but revenue roughly in line with estimates.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $26.00 to $54.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the technology company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 1.08% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $25.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, April 24th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Iridium Communications from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BWS Financial reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, New Street Research assumed coverage on Iridium Communications in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.67.

Iridium Communications Stock Up 25.4%

IRDM opened at $54.59 on Tuesday. Iridium Communications has a 12 month low of $15.65 and a 12 month high of $55.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.74. The business's 50-day moving average price is $44.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.68. The company has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.88.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.07). Iridium Communications had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The company had revenue of $219.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Iridium Communications will post 1.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Iridium Communications

In other news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 3,790 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $117,490.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,480,684. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Iridium Communications by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,157,227 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $176,533,000 after purchasing an additional 677,258 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 21.7% in the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 6,490,108 shares of the technology company's stock worth $113,317,000 after buying an additional 1,156,580 shares in the last quarter. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc now owns 5,251,133 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $91,265,000 after buying an additional 61,430 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,761,749 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $82,759,000 after buying an additional 725,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 265.8% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,039,731 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $53,074,000 after buying an additional 2,208,857 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Iridium Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rocket Lab’s acquisition of Iridium at a sizable premium is the main driver behind the stock’s rise, as shareholders are now valuing IRDM based on the deal terms rather than standalone fundamentals.
• Positive Sentiment: The deal could highlight the strategic importance of Iridium’s spectrum, satellites, and recurring communications business in a consolidating commercial space industry.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several legal firms and shareholder watchdogs announced investigations into whether the transaction is fair to Iridium shareholders, which is common after merger announcements and may add some uncertainty. Article: IRDM Stock Alert: Halper Sadeh LLC is Investigating Whether Iridium Communications Inc. is Obtaining a Fair Price for its Shareholders
• Neutral Sentiment: Iridium also issued M&A-related remarks and transcripts, reinforcing that the stock is trading as a takeover target until the deal closes. Article: Iridium Communications Inc. (IRDM) M&A Call Prepared Remarks Transcript

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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