8,250 Shares in EchoStar Corporation $SATS Acquired by October Effect Ltd

October Effect Ltd bought a new position in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 8,250 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $897,000. EchoStar makes up approximately 1.0% of October Effect Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 838 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

In related news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $7,634,457.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at $88,520,463.36. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total transaction of $5,688,995.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SATS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group raised their price objective on EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Williams Trading set a $158.00 target price on EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.17.

EchoStar Price Performance

SATS opened at $128.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.17 billion, a PE ratio of -2.56 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $113.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.63. EchoStar Corporation has a 52-week low of $14.90 and a 52-week high of $132.25.

EchoStar Company 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.