Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stake in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 3rd, 2023

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM – Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,043 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $2,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IRDM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,062,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 13.5% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,733,034 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $190,836,000 after buying an additional 564,367 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 1,200.8% in the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 526,699 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,072,000 after buying an additional 486,209 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 174.7% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 688,699 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,768,000 after buying an additional 438,000 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 27.1% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,025,586 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $76,081,000 after buying an additional 431,792 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ IRDM opened at $50.91 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of -339.38 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.61. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.85 and a 12-month high of $68.34.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The technology company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.28). Iridium Communications had a negative net margin of 2.53% and a negative return on equity of 1.80%. The company had revenue of $193.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $198.42 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post -0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 27th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on IRDM shares. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Iridium Communications from $76.00 to $68.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Barclays raised Iridium Communications from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on Iridium Communications in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Iridium Communications from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Iridium Communications in a research report on Thursday, June 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $61.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Iridium Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.20.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.