EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s What Happened

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 8,811,510 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 37% from the previous session’s volume of 6,434,893 shares.The stock last traded at $116.5910 and had previously closed at $128.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SATS has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. New Street Research initiated coverage on EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target for the company. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price target on EchoStar in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EchoStar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.14.

EchoStar Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $32.48 billion, a PE ratio of -2.27 and a beta of 0.94. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $126.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.52.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 9th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for 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 business posted ($0.71) EPS. Analysts predict that EchoStar Corporation will post -5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at EchoStar

In related news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 865,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,741,593. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EchoStar

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in EchoStar during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,593,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,199,000. Seven Grand Managers LLC purchased a new position in EchoStar during the 4th quarter valued at about $21,740,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new position in EchoStar during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,994,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in EchoStar by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 356,447 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $38,746,000 after purchasing an additional 114,018 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

About EchoStar

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.