EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) Receives $137.71 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $137.7143.

SATS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. New Street Research set a $165.00 price objective on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price target on shares of EchoStar in a report on Monday, May 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday, April 20th.

Insider Transactions at EchoStar

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $6,362,906.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 865,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,741,593. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EchoStar

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SATS. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in EchoStar by 6.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,805 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of EchoStar by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,482 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,854,000 after acquiring an additional 3,199 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of EchoStar by 8.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 331,476 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,479,000 after acquiring an additional 24,749 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in EchoStar in the first quarter valued at $128,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in EchoStar by 18.6% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,528 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares during the period. 33.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EchoStar Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS opened at $103.80 on Friday. EchoStar has a 52-week low of $24.15 and a 52-week high of $147.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.91.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 9th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. EchoStar had a negative return on equity of 4.80% and a negative net margin of 97.56%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.71) EPS.

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.