EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $137.23, but opened at $146.75. EchoStar shares last traded at $140.7790, with a volume of 2,115,693 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SATS. Zacks Research cut EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price objective on EchoStar in a research report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, New Street Research began coverage on EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.14.

EchoStar Trading Up 0.1%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $121.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.72 and a beta of 0.95.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. EchoStar had a negative net margin of 97.56% and a negative return on equity of 4.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.71) EPS. Analysts anticipate that EchoStar Corporation will post -2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

In related news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $5,688,995.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 253,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,796,505.30. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 55.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of EchoStar

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SATS. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in EchoStar in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators acquired a new position in EchoStar in the third quarter worth $28,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in EchoStar in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton acquired a new position in EchoStar in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in EchoStar in the third quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

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.