Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) Now Covered by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 65.55% from the company’s previous close.

ECHO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective on shares of Echostar in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Echostar from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Echostar from $126.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group raised Echostar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $134.00 price objective on shares of Echostar in a research note on Monday, September 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Echostar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.56.

Echostar Trading Up 0.2%

ECHO traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $86.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 361,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,214,768. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.48 and a beta of 0.99. Echostar has a 52-week low of $65.76 and a 52-week high of $147.25. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.89.

Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $24.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $24.14. Echostar had a negative return on equity of 1.28% and a negative net margin of 38.71%. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.06) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Echostar will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen Bye sold 8,508 shares of Echostar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.83, for a total value of $764,273.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,658.99. This trade represents a 92.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William Wade sold 2,425 shares of Echostar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.48, for a total transaction of $221,839.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,639.52. The trade was a 88.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,508 shares of company stock worth $1,224,686. Corporate insiders own 54.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in Echostar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $159,344,000. Tema ETFs LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,537,359 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in Echostar during the 2nd quarter worth about $139,004,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Echostar by 42.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,069,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,183,000 after buying an additional 318,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atreides Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Echostar by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Atreides Management LP now owns 1,000,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,111,000 after purchasing an additional 99,262 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

About Echostar

EchoStar Corporation is a communications and technology company that provides connectivity services through wireless, satellite, and broadband networks. Its businesses include Boost Mobile, a wireless service provider offering mobile voice, data, and broadband services, as well as satellite communications and related connectivity solutions for consumers, businesses, and government customers.

The company also operates through Hughes, which provides satellite internet, managed network services, and other broadband solutions, particularly for customers in areas with limited access to terrestrial communications infrastructure.