Miles to Go Before Sirius XM Sleeps

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Get tingly, jazz fans. Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) is launching Miles Davis Radio, a commercial-free channel devoted to the icon.

Enjoy it while it lasts, though. It's a temporary tribute that will be available on both Sirius and XM from Friday afternoon through Nov. 25.

Sirius XM enjoys brandishing its flexibility. Whether it's reacting quickly to Michael Jackson's death or a Monty Python milestone, the broadcaster doesn't rest on the laurels of being the only satellite radio in town. It may have cut corners when it consolidated some of its programming a year ago, but now that subscribers are footing the bill for additional music royalty fees, the expectations run high.

To be fair, some of the sting behind the nearly $2 monthly music fee can be offset by the platform's viability. There is no longer a whole lot of risk in renewing a long-term subscription. Between this past quarter's breakeven results and an S&P credit upgrade, Sirius XM isn't going away anytime soon. Many of Sirius XM's ambassadors are doing well, spearheaded by recent successes at Ford (NYSE: F), DirecTV (NYSE: DTV), and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL).

Nasdaq listing requirements may force Sirius XM into a reverse split if its stock price doesn't top $1 over the next few months, but the satellite radio star is wiggling its way off the exchange's naughty list.

Three hours before it made the announcement yesterday about Miles Davis Radio, Sirius XM said it's in compliance with Nasdaq rules governing independent directors and audit committees.

This isn't going to be enough to give the stock the better-than- 50% pop it needs to break the buck, but this company seems to be reporting a lot more good news than bad these days, so it may just find a way to nickel-and-dime its way there.

What will it take for Sirius XM to go back over a buck? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.

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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is a subscriber to both Sirius and XM. He does not own shares in any of the stocks in this article. He is also a member of the Rule Breakers analytical team, seeking out the next great growth stock early in its defiance. The Fool has a disclosure policy.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

  • Report this Comment On November 17, 2009, at 2:16 PM, cycle63 wrote:

    As bad as I would hate to see a reverse stock split at this point, I wonder what a 20 to 1 reduction would do to all the computer traders? With fewer shares outstanding, it does look like it would be a good thing for them and may actually help the price.

    What are your thoughts?

  • Report this Comment On November 17, 2009, at 2:25 PM, SIRIDoom wrote:

    Fox said KarmaCrook would be great to run Comcast ABC merger? Well, I guess Fox would love to see Comcast trading at 64 cents.

    LOL KarmaCrook has run SIRI stock into the ground. He should be in a cell with Madoff…

    Yes, SIRI will rev-split soon. Then start the whole thing over by issuing more shares to pay debt. Wait and see..

    It’s Mel’s way…

  • Report this Comment On November 17, 2009, at 2:34 PM, RAF22 wrote:

    Not going to happen any time soon. SIRI is trading from dominant technical strength and projecting potential tward 1.25 to 1.50 by mid 2010. In addition - Mel has made it clear in his most recent comments that the company is now on the verge of generating free cash flow, which is expected to increase quarter after quarter. In his interview on Fox News yesterday, he mentioned this would enable stock buy backs, paying down debt, and continuing support of great content for distribution.

    He also mentioned the business plan is executing well and continuing growth is anticipated into the future. With all this in mind, there is no need for a pre-mature reverse split to be contemplated while the stock is reflecting these positive fundamentals and gradually grinding to higher levels. Why give away the ship when the future looks so bright and the stock is increasingly moving in the right direction?

    Current pauses are only for consolidation along the way; This remains early in the recovery - which only began in March. A reverse split at this time would be perceived as responding to weakness and uncertainty - while the reality is the company is gaining strength and has plenty of time for the stock to recover further - well above 1.00 - into mid 2010.

  • Report this Comment On November 17, 2009, at 2:43 PM, Notafoollku wrote:

    SIRIDoom, as your sobriquet name says, you are really a doom man. Everything you write is doom, doom, and doom. Are you an agent to Street.com?

  • Report this Comment On November 17, 2009, at 3:13 PM, karaokejb wrote:

    RAF..look at the calendar...does March wind up in the midddle of the year in 2010? NO..it is the third month, as always. $1 by March Period. If Mel does not want a R/S the Debt retirement has to occur. IMHO it has to occur to the tune of 530M, in addition to the December Debt. Stability means consistency! With Debt covenents in excess of 1.7B in 2013, it gives the impression of no Planning. Reduction/Refinancing of the 2013 debt is a ncessity for Sirius to survive.

  • Report this Comment On November 17, 2009, at 3:14 PM, SIRIRICH wrote:

    I am not sure if SIRI will do a Rev stock split but rev stock splits are not always bad. Take a look at PCLN

    SIRI will make you RICH

  • Report this Comment On November 17, 2009, at 3:49 PM, southernbeachguy wrote:

    Well one thing that I can say...The Motley Fool is now writing Informative truthful article that I would recommend, unlike The Street that doesn't have the slightest idea what Truth, Manipulation or Unbias means.

    Good Job Motley Fool and thanks for now writing factual articles!

  • Report this Comment On November 17, 2009, at 3:51 PM, Notafoollku wrote:

    Karaokejb! get your facts straight. Did you listen to the guidance. No major debt due until 2012/2013. Are you one the shorts guys?

  • Report this Comment On November 17, 2009, at 4:23 PM, Notafoollku wrote:

    Karaokejb! Get your facts straight. Did you listen to the guidance? No major debt due until 2012/2013. Are you one the short's guys?

  • Report this Comment On November 17, 2009, at 4:24 PM, Notafoollku wrote:

    Karaokejb! Get your facts straight. Did you listen to the guidance? No major debt due until 2012/2013. Are you one of the short's guys?

  • Report this Comment On November 17, 2009, at 5:24 PM, RAF22 wrote:

    Right on, ItAint Cool! Considering how many times old SIRI_Doom has been run over by the steamroller, it is amazing that he is still occasionally around with the same old repeated garbage. However - the steamroller is coming back for another pass within a few weeks and the pancake you will see on the tarmac will have SD embroidered on the cuffs!

  • Report this Comment On November 17, 2009, at 7:31 PM, wildman7654 wrote:

    siri stock will top 1.00-1.25 soon.High end purchases and luxury items are on the rise in parallel with the rise in the stock market.Who can really say that the programming of sirius xm isnt top notch with so many static free stations.I love it and i know the video game generation is just starting to discover it, and they are telling their friends.Further more the price of 13.50 a month pales in comparison to what all of us jackasses are paying for cable,,lol,lol

  • Report this Comment On November 18, 2009, at 8:17 AM, paulbverizonnet8 wrote:

    . I'm hoping that SIRI branches out into the Marine world, as in beaming weather and tide information to boats with SIRI receivers on board. Maybe they could also beam maps and other navigation aids to boats of all types.

    . I'm also hoping that they don't do a reverse split. I want to have lots of little stocks, not a few big ones. I think they'll grow anyway. I get a good feeling about this stock, the same way I do when i go driving up to those coffee boxes with the girls wearing pasties.

    . Written by: Giordano Bruno.

  • Report this Comment On November 18, 2009, at 9:19 AM, cantbefoolish wrote:

    wildman, not only is 13.50 cheap in comparison to cable, but a lot of things.... like a month worth of cigarettes, booze, or the thousands of dollars idiots will spend to go support steroid users.

    And paul, where did you find coffee boxes with girls wearing pasties? hehe

  • Report this Comment On November 18, 2009, at 9:28 AM, goforitrandy wrote:

    I think SIRI will hit a buck in the 1st Q of 09...

    With 2 positive Q in a row by then and the continued

    subscriber growth it's a no brainer... Did you see Mel on CNBC talk about the grouth numbers... Let me break this down... Aprox 50% of all new cars in America come with a SIRIUS XM radio... All of those new cars get FREE SIRIUS radio for a limited time... After thier free trial subscriprtion runs out about 50% of those people will sign a long term contract and become a paying SIRIUS customer... According to the latest SARS numbers aprox 11 million new cars will be sold in 2009... That means over 5 million cars next year will come with SIRIUS radios already installed from the factory... And out of those aprox half will become paying SIRIUS subscribers... That's

    2.5 million new subscribers in 2010... That coupled with a low chun of only 2%... Plus the iPhone app, plus now SIRIUS is entering the pre-owned market and turning on old SIRIUS radios that previous owners

    turn off or stop paying on... And now SIRIUS is spending a lot of money to advertize, something it hasn't been doing... HELLO, can you say PROFITS...

    SIRIUS is gonna be pulling in over a billion dollars in cash real soon and will have no problem with breaking a dollar...

  • Report this Comment On November 18, 2009, at 10:50 AM, makingitmyway wrote:

    I bought SIRI at 3.00 and bought more at 1.00 then bought some more at .75, watched them go to .17 and cheered them back to .63. I was going to sell them for some long term losses to offset some other gains, but what the hell the ride is getting fun again. I think I'll wait it out............I'm waiting Mel............still waiting....

    BTW we need Howard to get another long term contract and it's time to change some of the acts on Red Neck Comedy... I think even the rednecks are getting tired of it....

  • Report this Comment On November 22, 2009, at 3:21 PM, multi007 wrote:

    No way! Howard Stern got to go. He's too expensive, or offer him stock options. Nobody buys SIRI just to listen to Howard. The cost benefit would be to drop Howard and alow the 1,000 subscibers leave. Cost = reward.

  • Report this Comment On November 25, 2009, at 9:22 AM, multioo7moron wrote:

    Multi007 Alert***** If this mooron thinks there are only 1000 subs that only listen to Stern, he really needs to take a view of subscriber aquisition trends. Surprisingly they skyrocket when Stern started announcing publicly. Estimate 3-5million drops if stern leaves and calculate the rev loss.......Sell by Mid/10 or lose your shirt.

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