Key Points
- Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of EchoStar on Dec. 11 at an average price of $105.33, generating about $30.11 million and reducing his ownership by 43.14% to 376,805 shares (valued ~ $39.69 million).
- EchoStar reported a very weak quarter, posting EPS of -$44.37 (vs. -$1.23 consensus), revenue of $3.61 billion (down 7.1% year-over-year) and a negative net margin of 85.36%.
- Financial and analyst backdrop is mixed: the company has a high debt-to-equity ratio (3.11) and $29.92 billion market cap, a 52-week range of $14.90–$111.00, and analysts’ consensus is a "Hold" with an average target of $79.40.
EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Get Free Report) CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total value of $30,106,684.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 376,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,688,870.65. The trade was a 43.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.
EchoStar Stock Performance
NASDAQ:SATS opened at $103.93 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $29.92 billion, a PE ratio of -2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.36. EchoStar Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $14.90 and a fifty-two week high of $111.00.
EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($44.37) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($43.14). EchoStar had a positive return on equity of 0.39% and a negative net margin of 85.36%.The business had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.52) earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that EchoStar Corporation will post -1.99 earnings per share for the current year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have recently commented on SATS. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $105.00 price objective on EchoStar in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on EchoStar from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. TD Cowen upped their target price on EchoStar from $28.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered EchoStar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.40.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on SATS
Hedge Funds Weigh In On EchoStar
Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of EchoStar by 79.1% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 838 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in EchoStar by 593.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 922 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in EchoStar in the second quarter worth $73,000. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
EchoStar Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
EchoStar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides networking technologies and services worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Pay-TV, Retail Wireless, 5G Network Deployment, Broadband and Satellite Services. The Pay-TV segment offers a direct broadcast and fixed satellite services; designs, develops, and distributes receiver system; and provides digital broadcast operations, including satellite uplinking/downlinking, transmission and, other services to third-party pay-TV providers; and multichannel, live-linear and on-demand streaming over-the-top internet-based domestic, international, Latino, and Freestream video programming services under the DISH and SLING brand names.
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