Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 10,506 Shares of Echostar CORP $ECHO

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its position in shares of Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) by 16.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 52,688 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,506 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Echostar were worth $4,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ECHO. Atreides Management LP increased its position in shares of Echostar by 11.0% during the first quarter. Atreides Management LP now owns 1,000,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,111,000 after purchasing an additional 99,262 shares in the last quarter. Resolute Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Echostar in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,774,000. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC acquired a new position in Echostar in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,568,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Echostar in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,405,000. Finally, Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Echostar in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,541,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William Wall bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $90.41 per share, for a total transaction of $90,410.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $316,435. This represents a 40.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 54.60% of the company’s stock.

Echostar Stock Performance

Shares of ECHO stock traded up $1.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $100.00. The company had a trading volume of 5,170,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,572,957. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 10.16 and a quick ratio of 10.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.40. The firm has a market cap of $29.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.06. Echostar CORP has a 12-month low of $65.76 and a 12-month high of $147.25.

Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $7.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.07 by $4.90. Echostar had a return on equity of 22.85% and a net margin of 81.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.00 million. On average, analysts forecast that Echostar CORP will post -0.13 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Echostar from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Echostar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Echostar from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Echostar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Echostar in a research report on Friday, October 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.44.

Echostar Company Profile

EchoStar Corporation is a communications and connectivity company whose businesses span satellite broadband, enterprise and government communications, pay-TV and wireless services. Its offerings include satellite-based internet and network solutions through Hughes Network Systems, along with consumer and business connectivity services. The company also provides video entertainment through DISH TV and Sling TV, and wireless services under the Boost Mobile brand. EchoStar serves customers in the United States and, through its satellite and communications operations, in international markets.