October Effect Ltd Purchases New Position in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

October Effect Ltd acquired a new stake in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 8,250 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $897,000. EchoStar makes up 1.0% of October Effect Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,199,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 575.2% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,321 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,697,000 after buying an additional 30,090 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new position in shares of EchoStar in the third quarter valued at approximately $780,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of EchoStar in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,508,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in EchoStar during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,464,000. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar Stock Performance

Shares of SATS opened at $128.68 on Friday. EchoStar Corporation has a 1-year low of $14.90 and a 1-year high of $132.25. The company has a market capitalization of $37.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.56 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Williams Trading set a $158.00 price objective on EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded EchoStar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

In related news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $7,634,457.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 823,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $5,688,995.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. This represents a 16.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar 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.