Calamos Advisors LLC Invests $597,000 in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $597,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in EchoStar by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 32,700 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,828,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 51,689 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,051,000 after purchasing an additional 10,615 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of EchoStar by 673.3% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,919 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,630,000 after purchasing an additional 12,119 shares during the period. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC purchased a new stake in EchoStar during the first quarter worth $1,463,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in EchoStar by 14.4% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 305,240 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $35,734,000 after buying an additional 38,502 shares in the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EchoStar Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ SATS opened at $103.80 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.16. EchoStar Corporation has a 52-week low of $24.15 and a 52-week high of $147.25. The firm has a market cap of $30.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.07 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.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last released its earnings results on Saturday, May 9th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.03). EchoStar had a negative return on equity of 4.80% and a negative net margin of 97.56%.The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.71) EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SATS. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price objective on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. New Street Research set a $165.00 price target on EchoStar in a report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.71.

Insider Transactions at EchoStar

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

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.