EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after TD Cowen lowered their price target on the stock from $37.00 to $30.00. The stock had previously closed at $21.52, but opened at $21.03. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. EchoStar shares last traded at $21.77, with a volume of 201,604 shares.

SATS has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded EchoStar to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on EchoStar from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on EchoStar from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Raymond James downgraded EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Charles W. Ergen acquired 1,551,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.04 per share, with a total value of $43,499,994.20. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 1,551,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,499,994.20. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EchoStar

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SATS. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 125.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 694.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,466 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 122.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,199 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 2,315 shares in the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $165,000. 33.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EchoStar Trading Up 2.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.54. The company has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of -2.40 and a beta of 0.70.

About EchoStar

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.