Bellwether Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Bellwether Advisors LLC lifted its stake in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 16.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,367 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,315 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $4,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SATS. Sachem Head Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 4th quarter valued at $568,218,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in EchoStar in the 4th quarter worth about $182,111,000. 140 Summer Partners LP purchased a new position in EchoStar during the 4th quarter valued at about $99,678,000. Atreides Management LP purchased a new position in EchoStar during the 4th quarter valued at about $97,948,000. Finally, Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd increased its position in shares of EchoStar by 68.6% during the fourth quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd now owns 2,181,728 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $237,154,000 after buying an additional 887,611 shares during the period. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EchoStar Stock Performance

Shares of SATS opened at $103.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $30.08 billion, a PE ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $115.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.05. EchoStar Corporation has a 12-month low of $24.15 and a 12-month high of $147.25.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 9th. 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 return on equity of 4.80% and a negative net margin of 97.56%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.71) EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SATS shares. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price target on shares of EchoStar in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. New Street Research set a $165.00 target price on shares of EchoStar in a report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EchoStar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.71.

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 shares were 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 owned 865,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,741,593. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 55.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

EchoStar 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.