State of Michigan Retirement System Purchases Shares of 33,300 Echostar CORP $ECHO

State of Michigan Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 33,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,380,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ECHO. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Echostar in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,345,000. Bridgelight Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Echostar in the 2nd quarter worth $243,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA purchased a new position in Echostar in the 2nd quarter worth $6,414,000. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Echostar in the second quarter worth $335,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new stake in Echostar in the second quarter worth $33,293,000. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Echostar Price Performance

Shares of ECHO opened at $91.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.69 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 5.20 and a quick ratio of 5.12. Echostar CORP has a twelve month low of $26.52 and a twelve month high of $147.25.

Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter. Echostar had a negative return on equity of 1.28% and a negative net margin of 38.71%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Echostar CORP will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ECHO. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Echostar from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. New Street Research set a $165.00 price objective on Echostar in a report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Echostar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings assumed coverage on Echostar in a report on Monday, July 6th. They set a “sell (d-)” rating for the company. Finally, Williams Trading set a $155.00 price target on Echostar in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Echostar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Echostar news, Director William David Wade sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.48, for a total transaction of $221,839.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,639.52. This represents a 88.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen J. Bye sold 8,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.83, for a total value of $764,273.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,658.99. This trade represents a 92.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 66,094 shares of company stock valued at $7,587,592 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Echostar Profile

EchoStar Corporation is a communications company that provides satellite and wireless services, video distribution, and broadband connectivity solutions. Its business has historically been centered on satellite technology and related services, serving customers through a range of connectivity and network offerings.

The company operates through several segments that support pay-TV, enterprise, government, and consumer communications needs. Its services and technologies have included satellite television distribution, broadband satellite access, network infrastructure, and wireless communications capabilities.

EchoStar was founded in 1980 and has long been associated with satellite communications in the United States.