Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 752,662 Shares of Echostar CORP $ECHO

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) by 99.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,730 shares of the company’s stock after selling 752,662 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Echostar were worth $788,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sachem Head Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Echostar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $568,218,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Echostar by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,524,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,595,000 after purchasing an additional 48,671 shares during the last quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Echostar by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd now owns 2,181,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,154,000 after purchasing an additional 887,611 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Echostar by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,767,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,110,000 after purchasing an additional 22,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Echostar in the fourth quarter worth $182,111,000. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Echostar Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:ECHO opened at $89.15 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $25.90 billion, a PE ratio of -3.58 and a beta of 1.03. Echostar CORP has a twelve month low of $26.52 and a twelve month high of $147.25.

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 net margin of 38.71% and a negative return on equity of 1.28%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts predict that Echostar CORP will post 23.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Echostar from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Echostar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Williams Trading set a $155.00 target price on shares of Echostar in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $137.00 price target on shares of Echostar in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings began coverage on shares of Echostar in a report on Monday, July 6th. They set a “sell (d-)” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $6,362,906.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 865,633 shares in the company, valued at $104,741,593. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 55.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Echostar

EchoStar Corporation is a communications company that provides satellite and wireless services, video distribution, and broadband connectivity solutions. Its business has historically been centered on satellite technology and related services, serving customers through a range of connectivity and network offerings.

The company operates through several segments that support pay-TV, enterprise, government, and consumer communications needs. Its services and technologies have included satellite television distribution, broadband satellite access, network infrastructure, and wireless communications capabilities.

EchoStar was founded in 1980 and has long been associated with satellite communications in the United States.