Oaktree Capital Management LP Sells 20,847,560 Shares of EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Key Points

• Oaktree Capital sold 20,847,560 EchoStar shares in Q3, cutting its position by 97.2% to 600,000 shares (about 0.21% of the company), valued at roughly $45.8 million at quarter-end.
• Company insiders also reduced holdings: CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares (a 7.94% decrease) and COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares (a 16.5% decrease).
• EchoStar shares traded near $107.92 with a $31.1 billion market cap; analyst coverage is mixed (consensus “Hold”) with an average price target of $134.17, institutional ownership at ~33.6% and insiders owning ~55.9%.

Oaktree Capital Management LP lessened its position in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) by 97.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 600,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 20,847,560 shares during the period. Oaktree Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.21% of EchoStar worth $45,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SATS. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,481,700,000. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter valued at $98,819,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP increased its position in EchoStar by 15.5% during 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 buying an additional 1,201,672 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth $42,464,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 6,942.9% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 522,022 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $39,862,000 after buying an additional 514,610 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.62% of the company's stock.

EchoStar Price Performance

SATS stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $107.92. The company had a trading volume of 293,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,474,974. EchoStar Corporation has a 1-year low of $14.90 and a 1-year high of $132.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $115.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $31.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SATS. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of EchoStar from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $158.00 price target on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $134.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $5,688,995.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at $28,796,505.30. This trade represents a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 55.90% of the company's stock.

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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