Quantitative Investment Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in Echostar CORP $ECHO

Quantitative Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 15,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,541,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Echostar by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in Echostar by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 22,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,674,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its stake in Echostar by 0.5% during the first quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 19,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,236,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Echostar by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Echostar by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECHO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. New Street Research set a $165.00 target price on Echostar in a research note 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 report on Tuesday, August 4th. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price target on shares of Echostar in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings assumed coverage on shares of Echostar in a research report on Monday, July 6th. They set a “sell (d-)” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $137.00 price objective on shares of Echostar in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William David Wade sold 2,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.65, for a total transaction of $238,573.75. Following the sale, the director owned 2,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $254,694.85. This trade represents a 48.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of Echostar 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 owned 865,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,741,593. This represents 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,094 shares of company stock valued at $7,587,592. 55.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Echostar Price Performance

Echostar stock opened at $86.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.47 and a beta of 1.03. Echostar CORP has a 12 month low of $56.26 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Echostar had a negative net margin of 38.71% and a negative return on equity of 1.28%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter. Analysts expect that Echostar CORP will post -1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Echostar Profile

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.