EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• EchoStar has an average analyst recommendation of Hold from seven brokerages (1 sell, 3 hold, 3 buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $134.17.
• CEO Hamid Akhavan and COO John Swieringa sold large blocks in early March (71,005 shares ≈ $7.63M and 50,088 shares ≈ $5.69M), reducing their stakes by 7.94% and 16.5%; insiders still control 55.70% of the company.
• Several institutions have built sizable positions (DLD ≈ $2.48B, Sachem Head ≈ $568M, Icahn ≈ $332M, Norges Bank ≈ $182M), with hedge funds/institutions owning ~33.6%; the stock trades around $130.47 with a market cap of ≈ $37.7B.

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $134.1667.

Several brokerages recently commented on SATS. Williams Trading set a $158.00 price target on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Zacks Research lowered shares of EchoStar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th.

Insider Activity at EchoStar

In related news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total transaction of $5,688,995.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 253,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. This represents a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 823,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 55.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EchoStar

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SATS. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in EchoStar during the third quarter worth approximately $2,481,700,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in EchoStar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $568,218,000. Icahn Carl C purchased a new stake in EchoStar during the third quarter worth approximately $332,513,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in EchoStar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $182,111,000. Finally, Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in EchoStar during the third quarter worth approximately $98,819,000. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EchoStar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SATS opened at $130.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $37.69 billion, a PE ratio of -2.59 and a beta of 1.00. EchoStar has a 1-year low of $14.90 and a 1-year high of $132.43.

EchoStar Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.