EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $134.1667.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SATS. Morgan Stanley upgraded EchoStar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Williams Trading set a $158.00 target price on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th.

EchoStar Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS opened at $115.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.29 and a beta of 1.01. EchoStar has a 1-year low of $14.90 and a 1-year high of $132.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $113.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.11.

Insider Activity at EchoStar

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total transaction of $5,688,995.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. This trade represents a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 55.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of EchoStar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in EchoStar by 301.9% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 79,182 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,654,000 after buying an additional 59,482 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in EchoStar by 247.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 12,552 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 8,941 shares during the period. Spear Advisors LLC purchased a new position in EchoStar during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,272,000. World Investment Advisors purchased a new position in EchoStar during the 4th quarter valued at about $378,000. Finally, Sentinel Dome Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,218,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

About EchoStar

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.