EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) had its price objective raised by research analysts at UBS Group from $125.00 to $127.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.37% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Williams Trading set a $158.00 price target on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of EchoStar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.17.

EchoStar Stock Performance

NASDAQ SATS opened at $114.03 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.56. EchoStar has a 1 year low of $14.90 and a 1 year high of $132.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.83 billion, a PE ratio of -2.27 and a beta of 1.01.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

In related news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total transaction of $30,106,684.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 376,805 shares in the company, valued at $39,688,870.65. This represents a 43.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of EchoStar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SATS. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 575.2% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,321 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,697,000 after buying an additional 30,090 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the third quarter worth $780,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in EchoStar during the third quarter valued at $1,508,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in EchoStar in the third quarter valued at about $42,464,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings 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 valued at $5,789,000 after acquiring an additional 24,132 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

About EchoStar

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.