EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) gapped up prior to trading 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 traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SATS. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price objective on EchoStar in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, New Street Research initiated coverage on EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.14.

EchoStar Trading Up 1.4%

The firm has a market cap of $40.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.77 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $120.64 and a 200 day moving average of $107.25.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company earned ($0.71) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that EchoStar Corporation will post -2.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $7,634,457.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,520,463.36. This trade represents a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at $28,796,505.30. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 55.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of EchoStar

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators purchased a new stake in EchoStar in the third quarter worth about $28,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in EchoStar in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new stake in EchoStar in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in EchoStar in the third quarter worth about $38,000. 33.62% of the stock is 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.