214,715 Shares in EchoStar Corporation $SATS Purchased by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 214,715 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $25,137,000. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.07% of EchoStar at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in EchoStar by 4.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 119,061 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $13,938,000 after purchasing an additional 5,066 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar during the first quarter valued at approximately $775,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 134.4% during the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 4,571 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 2,621 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of EchoStar by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,366 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of EchoStar by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,455 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $6,362,906.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 865,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,741,593. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 55.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

EchoStar Stock Down 0.1%

EchoStar stock opened at $103.80 on Thursday. EchoStar Corporation has a 12 month low of $24.15 and a 12 month high of $147.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.02. 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 firm has a market cap of $30.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 0.94.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.71) earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SATS. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price objective on EchoStar in a research report on Monday, May 18th. TD Cowen increased their target price on EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, New Street Research set a $165.00 price objective on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday, June 15th. 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.71.

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.