Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes $3.78 Million Position in Echostar CORP $ECHO

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 37,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,778,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in Echostar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Echostar during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Echostar by 134.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Echostar in the first quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Echostar in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Echostar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value 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 $104,741,593. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.83, for a total value of $764,273.64. Following the sale, the director owned 653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,658.99. This represents a 92.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ECHO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $137.00 target price on shares of Echostar in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Echostar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial raised 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. New Street Research set a $165.00 target price on Echostar in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Echostar from $126.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Echostar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.00.

Echostar Trading Down 0.9%

ECHO opened at $91.68 on Friday. 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. The company has a market cap of $26.63 billion, a PE ratio of -3.68 and a beta of 1.03.

Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during 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 anticipate that Echostar CORP will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Echostar Company 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.