Polianta Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Polianta Ltd cut its holdings in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 28.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,400 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,600 shares during the period. Polianta Ltd’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $1,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SATS. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the third quarter worth $2,481,700,000. Icahn Carl C acquired a new position in EchoStar in the third quarter valued at $332,513,000. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in EchoStar during the third quarter worth about $98,819,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in EchoStar by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 8,960,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $248,192,000 after buying an additional 1,201,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth about $55,199,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS opened at $112.23 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $113.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.42 billion, a PE ratio of -2.23 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.38. EchoStar Corporation has a 12 month low of $14.90 and a 12 month high of $132.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 253,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,796,505.30. This represents a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were 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 directly owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 55.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SATS. Morgan Stanley raised shares of EchoStar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Williams Trading set a $158.00 price target on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.17.

About EchoStar

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.