Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) Posts Earnings, May Be Serious Stock Value

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) is the most actively traded stock in the markets Wednesday as the company recently announced its quarterly earnings report – and the numbers have made the stock a hot commodity. As of noon ET the stock was trading at $2.44 a share, which was up more than 6 percent on the day and tied the stocks’ 52-week high. And it seems to be going higher.

In its earnings report, Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) reported quarterly revenue of $847.5 million, which was 12.5 percent higher than in the same period in 2011 and beat analysts’ estimates by nearly $5 million. Operating income was $228 million in the quarter, which was 32 percent higher than in the second quarter of 2011. Subscriber and advertising revenue reported by the company were up 14 percent year-over-year. The company reported nearly 23 million subscribers by the end of June.

The company reported net EPS of 2 cents a share, which was in-line with estimates on the Street. But it seems not only are the overall numbers positive for Sirius, but one thing that might have investors jumping on this stock is that when Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) raised its monthly subscription rate to $14.49 a month (up 12 percent), the amount of churn (cancellations in any given month) stayed steady with historical figures at about 2 percent.

That seems to indicate that subscribers still feel they’re getting a value for the product, and that loyalty and continued growth in the subscriber base suddenly makes this stock a real “value” to investors.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) has been aggressive in rolling out some new concepts, like Sirius XM 2.0, which is starting its availability on Chrysler models – but hasn’t gained traction with others yet. Also, the company is continuing to improve upon its web-streaming service, which will make it more directly compete with rival Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE:P), which has gained some momentum in the smartphone market due ot its Internet streaming.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) has a way to go to catch Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE:P) in its quest for control of the Internet streaming market, but its satellite enterprise has been progressing quite well, and there is little reason to believe that Sirius won’t be a serious competitor on smartphones – soon.