EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) Upgraded at Zacks Research

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on SATS. Morgan Stanley raised shares of EchoStar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.83.

EchoStar Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of EchoStar stock opened at $115.67 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $33.30 billion, a PE ratio of -2.58 and a beta of 1.01. EchoStar has a 1 year low of $14.90 and a 1 year high of $132.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $110.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was 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 directly owned 376,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,688,870.65. The trade was a 43.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.34, for a total value of $1,481,480.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 283,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,091,496.06. The trade was a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 55.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SATS. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in shares of EchoStar by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 89,902 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 23,195 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 575.2% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,321 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 30,090 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new stake in EchoStar in the third quarter valued at approximately $780,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth $42,464,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth $1,508,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

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.