State of Michigan Retirement System Acquires Shares of 33,300 Echostar CORP $ECHO

State of Michigan Retirement System acquired a new position in Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 33,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,380,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECHO. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Echostar during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Echostar in the first quarter worth about $34,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Echostar by 134.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd purchased a new stake in Echostar in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new stake in Echostar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 33.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ECHO shares. Wall Street Zen raised Echostar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings assumed coverage on Echostar in a research note on Monday, July 6th. They issued a “sell (d-)” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $137.00 price objective on shares of Echostar in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Echostar from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Echostar from $126.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.00.

Insider Transactions at Echostar

In other news, Director William David Wade sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.48, for a total value of $221,839.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,639.52. This represents a 88.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 865,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,741,593. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 66,094 shares of company stock valued at $7,587,592. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Echostar Price Performance

Shares of ECHO opened at $91.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.20, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of -3.69 and a beta of 1.03. Echostar CORP has a 52 week low of $26.52 and a 52 week high of $147.25.

Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter. Echostar had a negative net margin of 38.71% and a negative return on equity of 1.28%. On average, analysts forecast that Echostar CORP will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

About Echostar

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.