Forsta AP Fonden Makes New Investment in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Forsta AP Fonden acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 30,158 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,278,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,481,700,000. Icahn Carl C purchased a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $332,513,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in EchoStar by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,524,576 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $382,595,000 after purchasing an additional 48,671 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in EchoStar by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,744,438 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $133,205,000 after purchasing an additional 48,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in EchoStar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $182,111,000. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at EchoStar

In related news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at $88,520,463.36. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 55.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on SATS. New Street Research began coverage on EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.14.

EchoStar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SATS opened at $123.55 on Wednesday. EchoStar Corporation has a twelve month low of $14.90 and a twelve month high of $147.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17. The company has a market capitalization of $35.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.47 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.61.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 9th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.03). EchoStar had a negative net margin of 97.56% and a negative return on equity of 4.80%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.71) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that EchoStar Corporation will post -3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

EchoStar Company Profile

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.