Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Cuts Position in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL trimmed its stake in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,075 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 253,528 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $6,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SATS. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new stake in EchoStar during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in EchoStar by 79.1% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 838 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in EchoStar by 593.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 922 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the second quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of EchoStar by 55.4% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SATS shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Zacks Research raised shares of EchoStar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $158.00 price target on EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EchoStar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.17.

EchoStar Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of SATS stock opened at $106.24 on Monday. EchoStar Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $14.90 and a fifty-two week high of $132.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.58 billion, a PE ratio of -2.11 and a beta of 1.01. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.79.

Insider Transactions at EchoStar

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 376,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,688,870.65. The trade was a 43.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total transaction of $5,688,995.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 253,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. This trade represents a 16.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 55.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

EchoStar 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.