Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Takes Position in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake of 188,219 shares in EchoStar (NASDAQ: SATS) in Q4, valued at about $20.46 million, representing roughly 0.07% of the company.
• Company insiders have been selling: CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares and COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares in March, though insiders still own 55.90% of the stock.
• EchoStar has a market cap of about $37.96 billion, a negative PE (-2.61) and high leverage (debt/equity 3.21); Wall Street ratings are mixed with a consensus of "Hold" and an average target price of $134.17.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 188,219 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,459,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.07% of EchoStar as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,199,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of EchoStar by 575.2% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,321 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 30,090 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at $780,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,508,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,464,000. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company's stock.

EchoStar Stock Performance

Shares of SATS stock opened at $131.39 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.96 billion, a PE ratio of -2.61 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.82. EchoStar Corporation has a 12 month low of $14.90 and a 12 month high of $135.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Zacks Research lowered shares of EchoStar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target 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. Three research 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 data from MarketBeat, EchoStar currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $134.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,520,463.36. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of EchoStar 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 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 55.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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