OP Asset Management Ltd Invests $1.64 Million in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Key Points

• OP Asset Management initiated a new position in EchoStar, buying 13,987 shares worth about $1.64 million in the first quarter.
• EchoStar reported quarterly EPS of ($0.51), missing estimates by a small margin, while revenue of $3.67 billion slightly topped expectations.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans cautious: EchoStar’s average rating is Hold with an average price target of $137.71, while CEO Hamid Akhavan recently sold shares in a pre-arranged transaction.

OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 13,987 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,637,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SATS. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of EchoStar by 0.4% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 22,845 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,674,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of EchoStar by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,933 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of EchoStar by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in EchoStar by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,800 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in EchoStar by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 30,118 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $3,274,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company's stock.

EchoStar Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS opened at $103.80 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 0.94. EchoStar Corporation has a 1-year low of $24.15 and a 1-year high of $147.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $122.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.21.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 9th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. EchoStar had a negative net margin of 97.56% and a negative return on equity of 4.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.71) EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SATS. New Street Research set a $165.00 target price on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen raised EchoStar from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, EchoStar presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $137.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $6,362,906.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 865,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $104,741,593. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 55.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

EchoStar 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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