Saudi Central Bank Makes New Investment in Echostar CORP $ECHO

Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 9,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $923,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Echostar by 6.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Echostar by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 3,199 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Echostar by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 331,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,479,000 after purchasing an additional 24,749 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Echostar in the 1st quarter worth $128,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Echostar by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares during the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Wade sold 2,575 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.65, for a total transaction of $238,573.75. Following the sale, the director owned 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $254,694.85. This represents a 48.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen Bye sold 8,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.83, for a total value of $764,273.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,658.99. This trade represents a 92.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 13,508 shares of company stock worth $1,224,686. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECHO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Echostar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings began coverage on Echostar in a research note on Monday, July 6th. They set a “sell (d-)” rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised Echostar from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group raised Echostar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $137.00 price target on shares of Echostar in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.88.

Echostar Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ ECHO opened at $91.32 on Thursday. Echostar CORP has a 1-year low of $65.76 and a 1-year high of $147.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $89.85. The company has a current ratio of 5.20, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.66 and a beta of 1.00.

Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter. Echostar had a negative return on equity of 1.28% and a negative net margin of 38.71%.The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that Echostar CORP will post -1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Echostar Profile

EchoStar Corporation is a global communications and technology company that provides satellite, broadband, and wireless connectivity services. Its operations include satellite communications, broadband internet, enterprise networking, and related technology solutions for consumers, businesses, and government customers.

Through its Hughes business, EchoStar provides satellite-based broadband services under the HughesNet brand, as well as managed network services, equipment, and connectivity solutions for residential and commercial users.