John Swieringa Sells 50,088 Shares of EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) Stock

Key Points

• EchoStar COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares on March 4 at an average price of $113.58 for about $5.69 million, cutting his stake by 16.5% to 253,535 shares (≈$28.8M).
• Shares traded down about 4.2% to $106.24 and sit below the 50‑day moving average ($115.52) but above the 200‑day ($88.39); the company shows high leverage (debt/equity 3.21) and a negative P/E (-2.11).
• Several large institutions (including DLD Asset Management, Sachem Head, Carl Icahn and Norges Bank) have recently built sizable stakes, and analysts hold a consensus Moderate Buy with a $134.17 target.

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Get Free Report) COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

EchoStar Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of NASDAQ SATS traded down $4.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $106.24. 4,074,768 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,546,182. EchoStar Corporation has a twelve month low of $14.90 and a twelve month high of $132.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.11 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.39.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,481,700,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP acquired a new position in EchoStar in the fourth quarter valued at about $568,218,000. Icahn Carl C bought a new stake in EchoStar during the third quarter worth about $332,513,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in EchoStar in the 4th quarter valued at about $182,111,000. Finally, Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $98,819,000. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SATS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Williams Trading set a $158.00 price objective on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of EchoStar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.17.

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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