Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $132.00.

Several research analysts have weighed in on ECHO shares. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Echostar from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. New Street Research set a $165.00 price target on Echostar in a report on Monday, June 15th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Echostar from $126.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Echostar from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Echostar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th.

Insider Transactions at Echostar

In related news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 865,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,741,593. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director William David Wade sold 2,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.65, for a total transaction of $238,573.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $254,694.85. This represents a 48.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 66,094 shares of company stock worth $7,587,592 in the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Echostar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sachem Head Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Echostar during the 4th quarter valued at about $568,218,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Echostar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $182,111,000. Tema ETFs LLC lifted its holdings in Echostar by 83,917.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 1,539,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537,359 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in Echostar during the second quarter worth approximately $139,004,000. Finally, 140 Summer Partners LP bought a new stake in Echostar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $99,678,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Echostar Trading Down 0.1%

ECHO stock opened at $86.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.48 and a beta of 1.03. Echostar has a 12-month low of $27.40 and a 12-month high of $147.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 5.20 and a quick ratio of 5.12.

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