Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Acquires New Position in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,163 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $956,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new position in EchoStar in the third quarter valued at about $2,481,700,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $568,218,000. Icahn Carl C purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $332,513,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 1.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 48,671 shares during the period. Finally, Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd grew its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd now owns 2,181,728 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $237,154,000 after acquiring an additional 887,611 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ SATS opened at $103.80 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $119.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.16. The company has a market capitalization of $30.08 billion, a PE ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 0.94. EchoStar Corporation has a 12-month low of $24.15 and a 12-month high of $147.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 4.80% and a negative net margin of 97.56%.The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.71) earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SATS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 EchoStar in a report on Monday, June 15th. TD Cowen raised their price target on EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $155.00 price target on EchoStar in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 865,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,741,593. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 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.