EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $137.23, but opened at $146.75. EchoStar shares last traded at $140.7790, with a volume of 2,115,693 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group increased their price target on EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. New Street Research assumed coverage on EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Four 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.14.

EchoStar Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.25. The stock has a market cap of $40.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.77 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.30.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the business posted ($0.71) EPS. Analysts expect that EchoStar Corporation will post -2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

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 value of $5,688,995.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. This trade represents a 16.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 55.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new stake in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,481,700,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP bought a new position in EchoStar during the fourth quarter valued at $568,218,000. Icahn Carl C purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the third quarter worth $332,513,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of EchoStar by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,524,576 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $382,595,000 after acquiring an additional 48,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd raised its position in shares of EchoStar by 68.6% in the fourth quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd now owns 2,181,728 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $237,154,000 after buying an additional 887,611 shares in the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.