EchoStar Corporation $SATS Shares Bought by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd significantly increased its EchoStar stake, boosting holdings by 168.8% in the fourth quarter to 150,924 shares, making SATS its 26th-largest position.
• EchoStar’s stock has been volatile, recently opening at $114.08 after an 11% drop, with trading influenced in part by market excitement around the SpaceX IPO and EchoStar’s SpaceX-related exposure.
• The company remains under financial pressure: its latest quarterly earnings missed EPS expectations, and recent news of a missed interest payment by its DISH DBS subsidiary has renewed concerns about liquidity and default risk.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) by 168.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,924 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 94,773 shares during the quarter. EchoStar comprises about 0.4% of Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned approximately 0.05% of EchoStar worth $16,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SATS. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 6.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,805 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,482 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,854,000 after buying an additional 3,199 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 8.1% during the first 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 worth $8,479,000 after buying an additional 24,749 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the first quarter worth $128,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 18.6% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,528 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 2,119 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.62% of the company's stock.

EchoStar Trading Down 11.0%

Shares of SATS opened at $114.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17. EchoStar Corporation has a 12-month low of $16.73 and a 12-month high of $147.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 0.94.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 9th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.03). EchoStar had a negative net margin of 97.56% and a negative return on equity of 4.80%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.71) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that EchoStar Corporation will post -5.2 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SATS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Williams Trading set a $155.00 target price on shares of EchoStar in a report on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of EchoStar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $137.14.

EchoStar News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting EchoStar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EchoStar remains closely tied to enthusiasm around the SpaceX IPO, and that relationship helped drive a sharp run-up in the stock earlier in the week as traders speculated on the value of EchoStar’s SpaceX stake. All Eyes on SpaceX IPO Today
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets on SATS remain above the current share price, with recent estimates implying upside if the company can stabilize operations and reduce balance-sheet risk. SpaceX IPO Crowds Pre-Market Sentiment
• Neutral Sentiment: The SpaceX IPO is dominating market chatter and has increased trading interest in Space-related names, which has boosted volatility in EchoStar rather than changing the company’s fundamentals directly. Stock Movers Ahead of SpaceX Debut
• Negative Sentiment: EchoStar disclosed that its DISH DBS subsidiary missed about $183 million in interest payments due June 1, which is a default under the indentures unless cured during the grace period; that has renewed default and liquidity worries. EchoStar shares slide as missed interest payment rekindles default and liquidity concerns
• Negative Sentiment: After the recent surge, traders appear to be taking profits, and Friday’s weakness reflects a pullback from the SpaceX-linked rally combined with renewed concern about refinancing risk. Stock Market Today, June 12: EchoStar Falls as SpaceX-Linked Rally Meets DISH DBS Payment Risk

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 865,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $104,741,593. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 55.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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