Ethic Inc. Makes New Investment in Echostar CORP $ECHO

Ethic Inc. acquired a new position in Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Echostar during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Echostar in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Echostar by 134.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd bought a new stake in Echostar during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new stake in Echostar during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Echostar

In related news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $6,362,906.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 865,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,741,593. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen J. 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 value of $764,273.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,658.99. This represents a 92.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Echostar Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of ECHO stock opened at $91.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.68 and a beta of 1.03. Echostar CORP has a 52 week low of $26.52 and a 52 week high of $147.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.20.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ECHO. Raymond James Financial upgraded Echostar from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Echostar from $126.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $137.00 price target on shares of Echostar in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price target on Echostar in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Echostar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.00.

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.