Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Buys 92,422 Shares of EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Key Points

• Brevan Howard boosted its EchoStar stake by 693.4%, buying 92,422 shares to hold 105,750 shares worth about $8.08 million, while several other large funds (DLD, Contrarius, Darsana, Marshall Wace, Hennessy) also established or expanded sizable positions and institutional investors now own 33.62% of the stock.
• EchoStar insiders have been selling recently: COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares (~$5.69M) and CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares (~$7.63M), although insiders still control 55.90% of the company.
• EchoStar trades at a market cap of $31.19B with a negative P/E (-2.15) and a 52-week range of $14.90–$132.25; analysts have an average rating of Hold and an average target price of about $134.17, with some recent target upgrades.

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) by 693.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,750 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 92,422 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in EchoStar were worth $8,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of EchoStar in the third quarter worth about $2,481,700,000. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd bought a new position in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $98,819,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in EchoStar by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 8,960,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $248,192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201,672 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,736,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,464,000. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company's stock.

EchoStar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS opened at $108.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $31.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.15 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $115.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.03. EchoStar Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $14.90 and a fifty-two week high of $132.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

In other news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $5,688,995.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 55.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Williams Trading set a $158.00 price target on EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut EchoStar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EchoStar has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $134.17.

EchoStar 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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