Aspiring Ventures LLC Acquires 10,118 Shares of EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Key Points

• Aspiring Ventures LLC increased its EchoStar stake by 57.9% in Q4, buying 10,118 shares to hold 27,596 shares worth about $3.0 million, making EchoStar 1.0% of the fund's portfolio and its 13th largest holding.
• Corporate insiders sold large blocks in March — CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares (~$7.63M) and COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares (~$5.69M) — though insiders still own 55.70% of the company.
• Analysts' consensus is a "Hold" with a $134.17 average price target; EchoStar trades near $133, has a $38.48B market cap and a negative P/E, and institutional investors own about 33.62% of the stock.

Aspiring Ventures LLC raised its holdings in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) by 57.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,596 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 10,118 shares during the quarter. EchoStar comprises 1.0% of Aspiring Ventures LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Aspiring Ventures LLC's holdings in EchoStar were worth $3,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in EchoStar by 986.8% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 61,145 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $6,637,000 after purchasing an additional 55,519 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar during the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of EchoStar by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of EchoStar by 355.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 18,309 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,990,000 after buying an additional 14,293 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Effects LLC bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the fourth quarter valued at about $391,000. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

EchoStar Stock Performance

NASDAQ SATS opened at $133.21 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $38.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.65 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $115.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.78. EchoStar Corporation has a twelve month low of $14.90 and a twelve month high of $135.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SATS shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded EchoStar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $134.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $7,634,457.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at $28,796,505.30. This represents a 16.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 55.70% of the company's stock.

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.

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