Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 4,875 call options on the company. This is an increase of 144% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,999 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Matthew J. Desch purchased 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.33 per share, for a total transaction of $346,600.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,127,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,531,239.27. This trade represents a 1.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Niehaus purchased 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.49 per share, with a total value of $524,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 297,363 shares in the company, valued at $5,200,878.87. The trade was a 11.22% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 30,967 shares of company stock worth $557,406 over the last three months. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRDM. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 184.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Iridium Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications in the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the third quarter worth $48,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ:IRDM traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $20.83. The stock had a trading volume of 1,582,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,877,827. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.55. Iridium Communications has a one year low of $15.65 and a one year high of $34.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.09. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.44%.The firm had revenue of $226.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $222.13 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Iridium Communications will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is 53.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on IRDM shares. Barclays cut their price target on Iridium Communications from $31.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. BWS Financial reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 price target (down from $37.00) on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.50.

Iridium Communications Company Profile

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.