130,000 Shares in Echostar CORP $ECHO Bought by Step Capital Management Pte. Ltd.

Step Capital Management Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 130,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,195,000. Echostar comprises 2.8% of Step Capital Management Pte. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ECHO. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Echostar during the fourth quarter worth $3,593,000. Dockside LLC bought a new position in shares of Echostar in the 4th quarter valued at $1,554,000. Seven Grand Managers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Echostar during the 4th quarter valued at $21,740,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Echostar by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 356,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,746,000 after acquiring an additional 114,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS bought a new stake in Echostar during the 4th quarter worth $3,110,000. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial raised Echostar from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price objective on Echostar in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Echostar from $126.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. New Street Research set a $165.00 target price on shares of Echostar in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Echostar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Echostar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.00.

Echostar Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ ECHO opened at $89.80 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.74. Echostar CORP has a 12 month low of $65.76 and a 12 month high of $147.25. The company has a market cap of $26.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.60 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 5.20 and a quick ratio of 5.12.

Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter. Echostar had a negative return on equity of 1.28% and a negative net margin of 38.71%. As a group, analysts forecast that Echostar CORP will post -1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Echostar news, Director Stephen Bye sold 8,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.83, for a total transaction of $764,273.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,658.99. This trade represents a 92.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William Wade sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.48, for a total transaction of $221,839.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,639.52. The trade was a 88.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $1,224,686 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Echostar Profile

EchoStar Corporation is a communications company that provides satellite and wireless services, video distribution, and broadband connectivity solutions. Its business has historically been centered on satellite technology and related services, serving customers through a range of connectivity and network offerings.

The company operates through several segments that support pay-TV, enterprise, government, and consumer communications needs. Its services and technologies have included satellite television distribution, broadband satellite access, network infrastructure, and wireless communications capabilities.

EchoStar was founded in 1980 and has long been associated with satellite communications in the United States.