EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 1,851,826 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 3% from the previous session’s volume of 1,806,441 shares.The stock last traded at $23.11 and had previously closed at $23.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on EchoStar from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised 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 target on shares of EchoStar from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of EchoStar in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Raymond James lowered 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 assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.25.

EchoStar Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

In other news, Chairman Charles W. Ergen acquired 1,551,355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,499,994.20. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 1,551,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,499,994.20. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EchoStar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in EchoStar by 238.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,707,909 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $195,338,000 after buying an additional 9,661,167 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in EchoStar by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,776,238 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $118,546,000 after buying an additional 62,674 shares in the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP increased its stake in EchoStar by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $74,460,000 after acquiring an additional 927,695 shares during the period. Goldentree Asset Management LP raised its stake in EchoStar by 20.4% in the first quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 2,505,475 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,703,000 after purchasing an additional 424,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in EchoStar by 51.5% in the 2nd 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 period. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

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.