EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) Short Interest Update

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

EchoStar Price Performance

EchoStar stock opened at $110.69 on Thursday. EchoStar has a 12-month low of $14.90 and a 12-month high of $132.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $107.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.87 billion, a PE ratio of -2.47 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SATS shares. Williams Trading set a $158.00 price objective on EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup increased their target price on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.83.

Insider Activity at EchoStar

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total transaction of $30,106,684.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 376,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,688,870.65. This trade represents a 43.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.34, for a total transaction of $1,481,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 283,509 shares in the company, valued at $19,091,496.06. This trade represents a 7.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EchoStar

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the third quarter worth $2,481,700,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in EchoStar by 15.5% during 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 buying an additional 1,201,672 shares in the last quarter. Icahn Carl C purchased a new stake in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $332,513,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in EchoStar by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,449,193 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $95,553,000 after acquiring an additional 355,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of EchoStar by 2.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,744,438 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $133,205,000 after acquiring an additional 48,322 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.