Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• EchoStar has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from nine analysts: five rate it a buy, one a strong buy, two hold, and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $132.
• Recent analyst actions were generally positive, including Raymond James upgrading the stock to “strong buy” with a $115 target and Deutsche Bank reaffirming a “buy” rating with a $137 target; Citigroup lowered its target to $117 while maintaining a buy rating.
• EchoStar reported a quarterly loss of $0.51 per share on $3.67 billion in revenue, while insiders sold about $7.6 million of stock over the past three months. The shares opened at $92.51, well below their 52-week high of $147.25.

Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $132.00.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ECHO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Echostar from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price target on Echostar in a report on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Echostar from $126.00 to $117.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $137.00 price target on shares of Echostar in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Echostar from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th.

Insider Transactions at Echostar

In related news, Director Stephen J. Bye sold 8,508 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.83, for a total transaction of $764,273.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,658.99. The trade was a 92.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $6,362,906.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 865,633 shares in the company, valued at $104,741,593. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 66,094 shares of company stock valued at $7,587,592 over the last three months. 55.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Echostar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECHO. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Echostar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,593,000. Dockside LLC bought a new position in Echostar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,554,000. Seven Grand Managers LLC bought a new position in Echostar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,740,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Echostar by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 356,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,746,000 after acquiring an additional 114,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Echostar by 3,009.8% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 196,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,332,000 after acquiring an additional 189,980 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.62% of the company's stock.

Echostar Stock Performance

ECHO stock opened at $92.51 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 5.20, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $26.87 billion, a PE ratio of -3.71 and a beta of 1.03. Echostar has a 52-week low of $26.52 and a 52-week high of $147.25.

Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter. Echostar had a negative return on equity of 1.28% and a negative net margin of 38.71%.The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts anticipate that Echostar will post -1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Echostar

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.

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