EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) Shares Down 4.8% – Here’s Why

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) traded down 4.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $111.19 and last traded at $111.24. 1,707,192 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 5,553,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SATS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded EchoStar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised EchoStar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.17.

EchoStar Stock Down 4.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $32.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.22 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $39,688,870.65. This represents a 43.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 55.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EchoStar

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SATS. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of EchoStar in the third quarter valued at about $2,481,700,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP increased its position in EchoStar by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 8,960,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $248,192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201,672 shares in the last quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in EchoStar in the 4th quarter valued at about $568,218,000. Icahn Carl C bought a new position in shares of EchoStar in the third quarter worth about $332,513,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of EchoStar by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,524,576 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $382,595,000 after purchasing an additional 48,671 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

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.