Sirius XM Live Blog Recap: Investors are Bullish

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- As Sirius XM (SIRI) was coming out with a revenue beat before the market open on Wednesday, TheStreet hosted a live Sirius XM earnings blog that captured the bullish sentiment of Sirius investors who participated in our conversation -- and that culled important nuggets from the conference call that both confirmed all the rampant optimism and led to more questions about the company's future.

In a poll posted during the blog, 87% said based on the conference call Sirius is a "buy," while only 13% said the stock was a "hold." No one respondent said it was a sell. Furthermore, 70% of polltakers believe that Sirius XM will hit $2 as early as by the end of this year, while 22% said by the end of 2011. Only 4% thought that the $2 level would be reached by the end of 2012 and another mere 4% of participants said, "never."

"SIRI seems like a long-term great story, no stopping their growth," a participant named speedbirdd wrote. Sirius stock jumped 4% to $1.05 shortly after the company's second-quarter revenue beat.

Sirius XM's previous struggle with delisting threats and concerns that the company would have to resort to a reverse stock split to lift its stock price seemed like ancient history for investors, though blog host Robert Holmes said, "I still think a reverse stock split would be good for both the company and investors because it would reduce the MASSIVE amount of shares outstanding and would boost the price to a level more palatable for institutional investors and funds."

The great majority of blog participants, 88%, indicated in a poll that they believe Sirius XM shares will finish higher on Wednesday. Sirius stock has risen 3% to $1.04 in midday trading.

During Sirius XM's second-quarter conference call with Sirius CEO Karmazin and CFO David Frear, which began at 8 a.m. eastern time, executives expressed bullishness about the company's performance, yet caution due to ongoing economic uncertainties. "I can't help but be very optimistic about our future," Karmazin said.

Karmazin underscored the company's progress in penetrating the used auto market, penetration into new cars, and his belief that SAAR will increase. Auto sales are up substantially from 2009, though below pre-recessionary levels, according to Sirius' chief.