110,000 Shares in EchoStar Corporation $SATS Acquired by MYDA Advisors LLC

MYDA Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 110,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,957,000. EchoStar accounts for approximately 2.3% of MYDA Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new position in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,481,700,000. Icahn Carl C purchased a new position in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $332,513,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $382,595,000 after buying an additional 48,671 shares during the period. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd boosted its position in 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 valued at $237,154,000 after buying an additional 887,611 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in EchoStar by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,744,438 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $133,205,000 after buying an additional 48,322 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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 business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 865,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,741,593. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 55.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on SATS shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $155.00 price objective on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Four research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.14.

EchoStar Price Performance

EchoStar stock opened at $114.08 on Monday. EchoStar Corporation has a 12-month low of $16.73 and a 12-month high of $147.25. The stock has a market cap of $33.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 0.95. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.82.

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 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 company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.71) earnings per share.

Key Stories Impacting EchoStar

Here are the key news stories impacting EchoStar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EchoStar remains closely tied to enthusiasm around the SpaceX IPO, and that relationship helped drive a sharp run-up in the stock earlier in the week as traders speculated on the value of EchoStar’s SpaceX stake. All Eyes on SpaceX IPO Today
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets on SATS remain above the current share price, with recent estimates implying upside if the company can stabilize operations and reduce balance-sheet risk. SpaceX IPO Crowds Pre-Market Sentiment
• Neutral Sentiment: The SpaceX IPO is dominating market chatter and has increased trading interest in Space-related names, which has boosted volatility in EchoStar rather than changing the company’s fundamentals directly. Stock Movers Ahead of SpaceX Debut
• Negative Sentiment: EchoStar disclosed that its DISH DBS subsidiary missed about $183 million in interest payments due June 1, which is a default under the indentures unless cured during the grace period; that has renewed default and liquidity worries. EchoStar shares slide as missed interest payment rekindles default and liquidity concerns
• Negative Sentiment: After the recent surge, traders appear to be taking profits, and Friday’s weakness reflects a pullback from the SpaceX-linked rally combined with renewed concern about refinancing risk. Stock Market Today, June 12: EchoStar Falls as SpaceX-Linked Rally Meets DISH DBS Payment Risk

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.