EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) Stock Price Down 9.4% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) were down 9.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $128.10 and last traded at $128.44. Approximately 8,919,337 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 46% from the average daily volume of 6,127,863 shares. The stock had previously closed at $141.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SATS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. New Street Research started coverage on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.14.

EchoStar Stock Performance

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’s 50-day moving average price is $122.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.61. The company has a market cap of $37.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.56 and a beta of 0.95.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned ($0.71) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that EchoStar Corporation will post -2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

In related news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $5,688,995.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at $28,796,505.30. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $7,634,457.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at $88,520,463.36. This trade represents a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 55.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EchoStar

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators acquired a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

About EchoStar

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.