EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Shares of EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $21.99, but opened at $23.27. EchoStar shares last traded at $23.01, with a volume of 297,812 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Chairman Charles W. Ergen acquired 1,551,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,499,994.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 1,551,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,499,994.20. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SATS shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of EchoStar from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on EchoStar from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised EchoStar to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Raymond James lowered EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EchoStar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.25.

EchoStar Stock Up 4.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.54.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EchoStar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SATS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in EchoStar by 238.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,707,909 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $195,338,000 after acquiring an additional 9,661,167 shares in the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in EchoStar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,908,000. Monarch Alternative Capital LP acquired a new position in EchoStar during the first quarter worth approximately $21,375,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in EchoStar by 51.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,243,761 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,961,000 after buying an additional 762,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollo Management Holdings L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the first quarter valued at approximately $10,507,000. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EchoStar Company Profile

EchoStar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides networking technologies and services worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Pay-TV, Retail Wireless, 5G Network Deployment, Broadband and Satellite Services. The Pay-TV segment offers a direct broadcast and fixed satellite services; designs, develops, and distributes receiver system; and provides digital broadcast operations, including satellite uplinking/downlinking, transmission and, other services to third-party pay-TV providers; and multichannel, live-linear and on-demand streaming over-the-top internet-based domestic, international, Latino, and Freestream video programming services under the DISH and SLING brand names.