Intech Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS)

Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 26,216 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $651,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of EchoStar by 51.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,243,761 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $39,961,000 after acquiring an additional 762,462 shares in the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP bought a new position in EchoStar during the second quarter worth about $36,908,000. Monarch Alternative Capital LP increased its position in EchoStar by 23.6% during the second quarter. Monarch Alternative Capital LP now owns 1,854,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $33,020,000 after buying an additional 354,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in EchoStar by 3.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,001,832 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,843,000 after buying an additional 29,577 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 0.6% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 390,077 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,947,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445 shares during the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EchoStar Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS opened at $25.29 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 0.70. EchoStar Co. has a 52-week low of $10.21 and a 52-week high of $30.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of EchoStar from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. TD Cowen cut their price target on EchoStar from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on EchoStar from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of EchoStar to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Charles W. Ergen acquired 1,551,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.04 per share, with a total value of $43,499,994.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 1,551,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,499,994.20. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

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.