Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires New Position in Echostar CORP $ECHO

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group acquired 328,006 EchoStar shares worth approximately $33.3 million, giving it a 0.11% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 33.62% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $132, although targets range from $115 to $165 and one firm issued a sell rating.
• EchoStar shares opened at $91.68, while the company continues to report losses, including quarterly EPS of negative $0.51 and a negative net margin of 38.71%. Recent insider activity included stock sales by the CEO and a director.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 328,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,293,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Echostar at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECHO. Sachem Head Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Echostar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $568,218,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Echostar by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,524,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $382,595,000 after purchasing an additional 48,671 shares during the period. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Echostar by 68.6% in the fourth quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd now owns 2,181,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,154,000 after purchasing an additional 887,611 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Echostar by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,767,338 shares of the company's stock worth $192,110,000 after purchasing an additional 22,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Echostar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $182,111,000. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ECHO. Raymond James Financial upgraded Echostar from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. New Street Research set a $165.00 target price on Echostar in a report on Monday, June 15th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Echostar from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings began coverage on Echostar in a research note on Monday, July 6th. They set a "sell (d-)" rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Echostar from $126.00 to $117.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $132.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen J. Bye sold 8,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.83, for a total transaction of $764,273.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 653 shares in the company, valued at $58,658.99. This represents a 92.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $6,362,906.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 865,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,741,593. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Echostar Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ ECHO opened at $91.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.63 billion, a PE ratio of -3.68 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.20. Echostar CORP has a 52-week low of $26.52 and a 52-week high of $147.25.

Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter. Echostar had a negative return on equity of 1.28% and a negative net margin of 38.71%. As a group, research analysts expect that Echostar CORP will post -1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Echostar Profile

EchoStar Corporation is a communications company that provides satellite and wireless services, video distribution, and broadband connectivity solutions. Its business has historically been centered on satellite technology and related services, serving customers through a range of connectivity and network offerings.

The company operates through several segments that support pay-TV, enterprise, government, and consumer communications needs. Its services and technologies have included satellite television distribution, broadband satellite access, network infrastructure, and wireless communications capabilities.

EchoStar was founded in 1980 and has long been associated with satellite communications in the United States.

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