EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) Short Interest Update

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 29,880,452 shares, a growth of 22.0% from the December 31st total of 24,482,524 shares. Approximately 23.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,241,413 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 7,241,413 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days. Approximately 23.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

EchoStar Price Performance

Shares of SATS stock traded down $1.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $114.82. The company had a trading volume of 5,564,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,094,022. EchoStar has a 12-month low of $14.90 and a 12-month high of $132.25. The company has a market capitalization of $33.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $106.04 and a 200-day moving average of $75.69.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($44.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($43.14). EchoStar had a negative net margin of 85.36% and a positive return on equity of 0.39%. The company had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.52) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that EchoStar will post -1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SATS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded EchoStar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total transaction of $30,106,684.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 376,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,688,870.65. This represents a 43.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 22,000 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.34, for a total transaction of $1,481,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 283,509 shares in the company, valued at $19,091,496.06. This represents a 7.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 55.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EchoStar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SATS. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in EchoStar by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 89,902 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 23,195 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in EchoStar by 575.2% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,321 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,697,000 after buying an additional 30,090 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the third quarter valued at $780,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth $42,464,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of EchoStar by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 208,982 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,789,000 after buying an additional 24,132 shares during the period. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EchoStar Company Profile

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) is a global provider of satellite communication solutions, offering a suite of broadband and video delivery services to consumer, enterprise and government customers. The company operates two principal business segments: Broadband and Video. Through its Broadband segment, EchoStar delivers high-speed satellite internet access, managed network services and ground infrastructure for residential, commercial and rural markets. Its Video segment provides satellite fleet operations, teleport facilities and capacity-leasing services to video distributors and content providers.

In the Broadband segment, EchoStar’s Hughes Network Systems division designs and manufactures satellite broadband equipment, including user terminals and gateways, and develops advanced network management technologies.