Tabor Asset Management LP Invests $3.14 Million in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Key Points

• Tabor Asset Management LP acquired a new stake of 41,098 shares in EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) in Q3, valued at approximately $3.14 million, representing about 1.9% of the fund's portfolio and its 20th largest holding.
• Company insiders made sizable sales: CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares for roughly $30.1 million and COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares for about $5.69 million, materially reducing their ownership stakes.
• Analyst sentiment is largely positive with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a $134.17 target, supported by recent upgrades such as Morgan Stanley moving EchoStar to "overweight."

Tabor Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 41,098 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,138,000. EchoStar accounts for approximately 1.9% of Tabor Asset Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new position in shares of EchoStar in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in EchoStar by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 838 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in EchoStar by 593.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 922 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar in the second quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of EchoStar by 55.4% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total transaction of $30,106,684.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 376,805 shares in the company, valued at $39,688,870.65. This represents a 43.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 55.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on SATS shares. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of EchoStar from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of EchoStar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.17.

EchoStar Trading Up 3.5%

NASDAQ SATS opened at $109.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $115.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.38. EchoStar Corporation has a one year low of $14.90 and a one year high of $132.25. The company has a market capitalization of $31.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.19 and a beta of 1.01.

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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