405,750 Shares in EchoStar Corporation $SATS Purchased by Clearline Capital LP

Clearline Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 405,750 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,983,000. EchoStar accounts for about 1.4% of Clearline Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new stake in EchoStar in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of EchoStar by 79.1% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 838 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 593.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 922 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 55.4% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of EchoStar by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,665 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EchoStar Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:SATS opened at $108.34 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.03. EchoStar Corporation has a one year low of $14.90 and a one year high of $132.25. The firm has a market cap of $31.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.15 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SATS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup lifted their target price on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.17.

Insider Activity at EchoStar

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at $28,796,505.30. This trade represents a 16.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar Profile

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.