Iridium Communications ' shares are poised to trade higher over the next year, with SpaceX's initial public offering acting as a likely catalyst for the stock, according to Oppenheimer. The investment firm has an outperform rating on the satellite name. It raised its price target on shares to $60 from $48, implying 21% upside from Tuesday's close. "The space food chain will expand from scale economics with … IRDM … benefiting," analyst Timothy Horan said Wednesday in a note to clients. SpaceX is slated to list its shares on the Nasdaq on June 12. Its debut is expected to be the biggest public listing yet. Iridium operates a commercial Low Earth Orbit satellite network, providing voice, data, and sensor-equipped objects with connectivity in various parts of the world. It uses SpaceX to launch its satellites into space. The satellite company could see more demand, boosting its stock, as SpaceX makes further inroads into the broadband market and other areas of the $1.6 trillion communications industry, per Oppenheimer. "With a target of 10K Starship launches per year and aggressive capacity increases on communications/AI infrastructure, the company will dominate the fastest-growing industry over the next century," wrote Horan. "There will be opportunities for dozens of other businesses to thrive beside it." Oppenheimer's call falls in line with consensus on Wall Street. Of the 11 analysts covering Iridium, 6 have a buy or strong buy on the stock, LSEG data shows. Shares have jumped 185% in the year to date.
