Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Raises Stock Holdings in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 693.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 105,750 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 92,422 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $8,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new stake in EchoStar in the third quarter worth $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in EchoStar by 79.1% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 838 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of EchoStar by 593.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 922 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar in the 2nd quarter worth $73,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at $88,520,463.36. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $5,688,995.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at $28,796,505.30. This trade represents a 16.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 55.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SATS. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Williams Trading set a $158.00 price objective on EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research downgraded EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, EchoStar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.17.

EchoStar Trading Up 0.6%

SATS opened at $108.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.15 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $115.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.03. EchoStar Corporation has a one year low of $14.90 and a one year high of $132.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.42.

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.