Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 59,482 Shares of EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 301.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,182 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,482 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $8,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,481,700,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the fourth quarter worth about $568,218,000. Icahn Carl C purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the third quarter worth about $332,513,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the fourth quarter worth about $182,111,000. Finally, Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $98,819,000. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on SATS. Zacks Research cut EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. UBS Group lifted 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. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Monday, April 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, EchoStar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $6,362,906.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 865,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,741,593. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar Price Performance

SATS stock opened at $103.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $122.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 0.94. EchoStar Corporation has a 52-week low of $24.15 and a 52-week high of $147.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.30.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 9th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. EchoStar had a negative return on equity of 4.80% and a negative net margin of 97.56%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.71) EPS.

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.