EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.75.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James downgraded shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on EchoStar from $15.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen cut their target price on EchoStar from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com raised EchoStar to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of EchoStar in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

In related news, Chairman Charles W. Ergen bought 1,551,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.04 per share, with a total value of $43,499,994.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 1,551,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,499,994.20. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 55.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EchoStar

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 54.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,231 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in EchoStar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $89,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of EchoStar by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,684 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 2,635 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $165,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the second quarter valued at approximately $183,000. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EchoStar Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS opened at $27.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. EchoStar has a fifty-two week low of $11.83 and a fifty-two week high of $30.08. The stock has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.96 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $24.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.91.

About EchoStar

EchoStar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides networking technologies and services worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Pay-TV, Retail Wireless, 5G Network Deployment, Broadband and Satellite Services. The Pay-TV segment offers a direct broadcast and fixed satellite services; designs, develops, and distributes receiver system; and provides digital broadcast operations, including satellite uplinking/downlinking, transmission and, other services to third-party pay-TV providers; and multichannel, live-linear and on-demand streaming over-the-top internet-based domestic, international, Latino, and Freestream video programming services under the DISH and SLING brand names.