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

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,900,000 shares, a growth of 8.6% from the March 31st total of 3,590,000 shares. Approximately 3.6% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,079,000. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Iridium Communications by 57.5% in the third quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 2,059,088 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $93,668,000 after acquiring an additional 751,595 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 2,918.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 603,900 shares of the technology company's stock worth $24,857,000 after purchasing an additional 583,896 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,743,482 shares of the technology company's stock worth $71,762,000 after purchasing an additional 539,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 1,743,482 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $71,762,000 after purchasing an additional 539,909 shares during the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

IRDM stock traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,812,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,180,259. Iridium Communications has a 12 month low of $24.14 and a 12 month high of $65.69. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $27.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.21. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 149.19 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 3.33.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The technology company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.01. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 2.76%. The company had revenue of $203.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.08 EPS. Iridium Communications's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Iridium Communications will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 247.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TheStreet upgraded Iridium Communications from a "d+" rating to a "c-" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. BWS Financial reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. William Blair cut shares of Iridium Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Iridium Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.75.

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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