Key Points
- Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares on March 6 at an average price of $107.52 for proceeds of $7,634,457.60, trimming his stake by about 7.94% to 823,293 shares (SEC Form 4 filed).
- Insider selling is broader: Akhavan sold ~285,832 shares in December (~$30.1M) and the COO also executed a multi‑million dollar sale (~$5.69M), a pattern that could weigh on sentiment despite large remaining insider holdings.
- Company context and catalysts: EchoStar (market cap ~$31.2B) is poised for potential upside from S&P 500 inclusion, an upcoming Falcon 9 launch and spectrum monetization, but faces elevated volatility given valuation debates and high leverage (debt/equity ~3.21).
EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Get Free Report) CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 823,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. This trade represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.
Hamid Akhavan also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Thursday, December 11th, Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of EchoStar stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total transaction of $30,106,684.56.
EchoStar Stock Performance
SATS stock opened at $108.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $31.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.16 and a beta of 1.01. EchoStar Corporation has a 12-month low of $14.90 and a 12-month high of $132.25. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $115.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake 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 worth $2,697,000 after buying an additional 30,090 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new position in EchoStar during the third quarter valued at about $780,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in EchoStar during the third quarter valued at about $1,508,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in EchoStar during the third quarter worth about $42,464,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in EchoStar by 13.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 208,982 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $5,789,000 after acquiring an additional 24,132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.62% of the company's stock.
EchoStar News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting EchoStar this week:
- Positive Sentiment: S&P 500 inclusion should support demand from index funds and boost liquidity as SATS joins the benchmark. Inclusion often creates one-time buying pressure and higher institutional interest. S&P Rebalance Article
- Positive Sentiment: Operational catalysts remain: coverage highlights the upcoming Falcon 9 launch (EchoStar XXV) and recent spectrum sale that could materially reshape revenue/timing of cash flows — potential upside if launches and spectrum monetization proceed as planned. Falcon 9 / Valuation Article
- Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and timing debate: commentary asks whether SATS is too late to buy after a multi-year rally, signaling mixed analyst views that could keep volatility elevated. Is It Too Late Article
- Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures in recent filings show zero shares/NaN changes — likely a reporting/data anomaly; this makes short-interest signals unreliable for now. Short Interest Note
- Negative Sentiment: CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares (~$7.63M) on March 6, reducing his stake by about 7.94%; insider selling of this size can weigh on sentiment even if the insider retains a large holding. See the SEC filing. SEC Form 4
- Negative Sentiment: EchoStar COO also executed a multi-million dollar sale ($5.69M), adding to the insider selling narrative that may pressure the stock in the near term. COO Sale Article
- Negative Sentiment: Gray Media’s blackout of 226 local channels is disrupting DISH TV customers nationwide; while this directly impacts DISH, the outage can create negative sentiment across the satellite/pay-TV ecosystem and could be a short-term headwind for companies tied to pay-TV distribution. Gray Media Blackout
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
SATS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded EchoStar from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.17.
Get Our Latest Report on SATS
EchoStar Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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