Intech Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 29.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,389 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,251 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $5,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SATS. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth $2,481,700,000. Icahn Carl C acquired a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth $332,513,000. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth $98,819,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth $55,199,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth $53,736,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of SATS stock opened at $129.19 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $124.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.95. 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 stock has a market cap of $37.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.58 and a beta of 0.95. EchoStar Corporation has a twelve month low of $14.90 and a twelve month high of $147.25.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last announced 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). 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 analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.71) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that EchoStar Corporation will post -3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on SATS. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. New Street Research began coverage on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, EchoStar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.14.

Insider Transactions at EchoStar

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $7,634,457.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 823,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total transaction of $5,688,995.04. Following the completion of 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate 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.