EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on SATS. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Williams Trading set a $158.00 target price on EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.17.

EchoStar Stock Performance

NASDAQ SATS opened at $107.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.01 billion, a PE ratio of -2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.42. EchoStar has a 52-week low of $14.90 and a 52-week high of $132.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EchoStar news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total transaction of $5,688,995.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at $28,796,505.30. This represents a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,520,463.36. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 55.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of EchoStar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of EchoStar in the third quarter worth approximately $2,481,700,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP lifted its position in EchoStar by 15.5% during the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 8,960,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $248,192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201,672 shares during the last quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP purchased a new position in EchoStar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $568,218,000. Icahn Carl C bought a new position in shares of EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth $332,513,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,524,576 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $382,595,000 after buying an additional 48,671 shares during the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

EchoStar News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting EchoStar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: S&P 500 inclusion set for March 23 — inclusion should create one-time buying from index funds and improve liquidity, a near-term technical boost for demand. Dear EchoStar Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for March 23
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile endorsement of spectrum value — Jim Cramer and other commentators argue EchoStar’s spectrum assets are underappreciated, supporting a bullish fundamental narrative if monetization/launches proceed. Jim Cramer: Market Underappreciated EchoStar’s Spectrum
• Neutral Sentiment: Boost/DISH consumer activity: Boost Mobile will offer the new iPhone 17e — product distribution moves can modestly support consumer demand for EchoStar/DISH services but are not a major revenue shock. Boost Mobile to Offer the New iPhone 17e
• Neutral Sentiment: Sling TV marketing push (temporary $1 pass) — promotional activity may help short-term subscriber engagement around March events but is a modest near-term signal. Sling TV Trae Young $1 Day Pass Offer
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded EchoStar from “strong-buy” to “hold” — analyst downgrades can trigger selling and reduce near-term buy-side conviction. Zacks Downgrade / TickerReport
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares (~$7.63M) on March 6 (reducing his position ~7.9%); filings and media reports also show additional insider sales — this large insider selling is a notable negative for sentiment. CEO Insider Sale / InsiderTrades
• Negative Sentiment: Gray Media blackout removed 226 local channels across 113 markets — the DISH/EchoStar ecosystem faces operational/headline risk from the carriage dispute, which can pressure subscriber sentiment and short-term video segment revenue. Gray Media Blackout / Yahoo Finance

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.