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

EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS)’s share price 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.

Specifically, Chairman Charles W. Ergen bought 1,551,355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.04 per share, with a total value of $43,499,994.20. Following the purchase, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SATS has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of EchoStar to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Raymond James lowered shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on EchoStar from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on EchoStar from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on EchoStar from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EchoStar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.25.

EchoStar Stock Performance

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’s 50-day moving average price is $24.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.54.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EchoStar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of EchoStar by 125.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in EchoStar by 694.8% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in EchoStar by 122.9% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,199 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,315 shares in the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar during the second quarter worth $89,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the third quarter valued at $165,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

About EchoStar

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.