Brokerages Set EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) PT at $134.17

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $138.00.

SATS has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, New Street Research began coverage on EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,796,505.30. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $88,520,463.36. This trade represents a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 55.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of EchoStar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new position in EchoStar in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new stake in EchoStar in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators purchased a new stake in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in EchoStar during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 33.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EchoStar Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS opened at $135.11 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.70 and a beta of 0.95. EchoStar has a 52-week low of $14.90 and a 52-week high of $139.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.30.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. EchoStar had a negative net margin of 97.56% and a negative return on equity of 4.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.71) EPS. Analysts expect that EchoStar will post -2.51 EPS for the current year.

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.