Lbp Am Sa Buys Shares of 22,000 EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Key Points

• Lbp Am Sa bought a new stake of 22,000 shares in EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) during Q4, valued at about $2.39 million.
• EchoStar executives sold large positions: COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares (~$5.69M, a 16.5% reduction) and CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares (~$7.63M, a 7.94% reduction); insiders now own 55.90% of the stock.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating on the stock with a consensus price target of $134.17, following mixed recent target increases from firms including Deutsche Bank, UBS and Citigroup.

Lbp Am Sa bought a new stake in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 22,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,391,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,481,700,000. Icahn Carl C acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $332,513,000. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $98,819,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,199,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,736,000. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 directly owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at $28,796,505.30. This represents a 16.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 823,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $134.17.

EchoStar Price Performance

Shares of SATS opened at $133.21 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $38.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.65 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $115.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.38. EchoStar Corporation has a 12 month low of $14.90 and a 12 month high of $135.88.

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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