Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Iridium shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, reaching $48.82 and closing near $48.44, compared with the $44.38 average.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: three analysts rate the stock Buy, four Hold, and one Sell, resulting in an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $41.20.
• Iridium missed quarterly EPS estimates ($0.09 versus $0.28 expected) despite revenue exceeding forecasts, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share; insiders have sold approximately $19.1 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $44.38 and traded as high as $48.82. Iridium Communications shares last traded at $48.44, with a volume of 1,064,996 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IRDM. New Street Research raised Iridium Communications from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, William Blair lowered Iridium Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.20.

Iridium Communications Trading Down 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.31. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $47.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.84.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.19). Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 10.55%.The business had revenue of $225.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 13,473 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.51, for a total transaction of $680,521.23. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 35,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,804,772.81. The trade was a 27.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 85,454 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total value of $4,296,627.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,179,814.76. This represents a 23.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 381,688 shares of company stock valued at $19,146,390. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRDM. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc now owns 5,251,133 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $91,265,000 after acquiring an additional 61,430 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,446,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,083,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $718,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $781,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc is a global provider of satellite-based voice and data communications. The company operates the Iridium satellite network, a constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites designed to provide coverage across the world, including oceans, airways, polar regions and other areas beyond the reach of traditional terrestrial networks.

Iridium serves commercial, government and industrial customers through a range of products and services. Its offerings include satellite phones, push-to-talk communications, two-way messaging, Internet of Things connectivity and Iridium Certus broadband services.

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