EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) Shares Sold by ARS Investment Partners LLC

ARS Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) by 23.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SATS. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,830,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the second quarter valued at approximately $183,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of EchoStar by 11.0% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 116,034 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,067,000 after purchasing an additional 11,537 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the second quarter valued at approximately $833,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of EchoStar by 7.4% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 265,257 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,724,000 after purchasing an additional 18,357 shares during the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EchoStar Trading Up 5.7 %

Shares of SATS opened at $27.00 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.58. EchoStar Co. has a fifty-two week low of $11.83 and a fifty-two week high of $30.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of EchoStar to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of EchoStar from $15.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of EchoStar from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

In related news, Chairman Charles W. Ergen purchased 1,551,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,499,994.20. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 1,551,355 shares in the company, valued at $43,499,994.20. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 55.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.