EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Williams Trading set a $158.00 price objective on EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded EchoStar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.83.

EchoStar Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:SATS opened at $115.67 on Monday. EchoStar has a 52 week low of $14.90 and a 52 week high of $132.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $110.88 and its 200-day moving average is $79.22. The firm has a market cap of $33.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.58 and a beta of 1.01.

Insider Transactions at EchoStar

In other news, COO John Swieringa sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.34, for a total value of $1,481,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 283,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,091,496.06. This represents a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total value of $30,106,684.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 376,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,688,870.65. The trade was a 43.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 55.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EchoStar

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SATS. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new stake in EchoStar in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton bought a new stake in EchoStar in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of EchoStar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.