DNB Asset Management AS Takes $3.11 Million Position in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

DNB Asset Management AS acquired a new stake in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 28,615 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,110,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, BOKF NA lifted its stake in shares of EchoStar by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. BOKF NA now owns 400 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,520,463.36. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $5,688,995.04. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 55.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SATS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup raised their price target on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research lowered EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. TD Cowen raised their price target on EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Williams Trading set a $155.00 price target on EchoStar in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.14.

EchoStar Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ SATS opened at $136.52 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.13. The firm has a market cap of $39.44 billion, a PE ratio of -2.72 and a beta of 0.95. EchoStar Corporation has a twelve month low of $14.90 and a twelve month high of $147.25.

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 firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned ($0.71) earnings per share. Analysts expect that EchoStar Corporation will post -2.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.