ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC Makes New $1.46 Million Investment in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC acquired a new position in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 12,500 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,463,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SATS. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 305,240 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $35,734,000 after purchasing an additional 38,502 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in EchoStar by 3.1% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 41,783 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,855,000 after buying an additional 1,270 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in EchoStar during the first quarter valued at approximately $197,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC lifted its position in EchoStar by 144.3% during the first quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 12,715 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after buying an additional 7,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in EchoStar by 311.7% during the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 37,615 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $4,404,000 after buying an additional 28,479 shares during the period. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EchoStar Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ SATS opened at $103.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $30.08 billion, a PE ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 0.94. EchoStar Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $24.15 and a fifty-two week high of $147.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $118.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 9th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.71) EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SATS. Wall Street Zen raised shares of EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. New Street Research set a $165.00 target price on shares of EchoStar in a report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price target on EchoStar in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EchoStar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

In related news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $6,362,906.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 865,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,741,593. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 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.