EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) Shares Up 3.8% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) were up 3.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $23.84 and last traded at $23.60. Approximately 264,965 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 1,207,171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SATS shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on EchoStar in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Raymond James downgraded shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of EchoStar from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of EchoStar to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

EchoStar Trading Down 1.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.71 and its 200 day moving average is $22.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Insider Activity at EchoStar

In other news, Chairman Charles W. Ergen bought 1,551,355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,499,994.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 1,551,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,499,994.20. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 55.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EchoStar

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darsana Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in EchoStar in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,908,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in EchoStar by 32.7% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 164,534 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,084,000 after acquiring an additional 40,533 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the third quarter worth $651,000. Stonehill Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the third quarter worth $9,235,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the second quarter worth $1,830,000. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EchoStar Company Profile

EchoStar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides networking technologies and services worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Pay-TV, Retail Wireless, 5G Network Deployment, Broadband and Satellite Services. The Pay-TV segment offers a direct broadcast and fixed satellite services; designs, develops, and distributes receiver system; and provides digital broadcast operations, including satellite uplinking/downlinking, transmission and, other services to third-party pay-TV providers; and multichannel, live-linear and on-demand streaming over-the-top internet-based domestic, international, Latino, and Freestream video programming services under the DISH and SLING brand names.