Clearline Capital LP Acquires New Position in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Key Points

• Clearline Capital LP bought 405,750 shares of EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) in Q3 — roughly $30.98 million — representing about 0.14% of EchoStar and ~1.4% of Clearline's portfolio, its 5th-largest holding.
• Significant insider selling: COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares at $113.58 and CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares at $107.52, trimming their positions while insiders still hold 55.9% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is "Hold" with a $134.17 target, though several firms raised targets or ratings (e.g., Morgan Stanley to overweight, Deutsche Bank to buy) and Weiss Ratings maintained a "sell (D-)."

Clearline Capital LP bought a new position in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 405,750 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $30,983,000. EchoStar makes up about 1.4% of Clearline Capital LP's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Clearline Capital LP owned about 0.14% of EchoStar at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in EchoStar by 6.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,805 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of EchoStar by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,482 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 3,199 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of EchoStar by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 331,476 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $8,479,000 after buying an additional 24,749 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in EchoStar in the 1st quarter worth $128,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in EchoStar in the 2nd quarter worth $217,000. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $7,634,457.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 55.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SATS shares. Morgan Stanley raised EchoStar from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $134.17.

EchoStar Trading Up 0.6%

SATS opened at $108.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $115.52 and a 200 day moving average of $92.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. EchoStar Corporation has a 12 month low of $14.90 and a 12 month high of $132.25. The firm has a market cap of $31.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.15 and a beta of 1.01.

About EchoStar

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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