Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO)

Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 99,419 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 354% compared to the typical daily volume of 21,892 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Echostar

In other Echostar news, Director Stephen J. Bye sold 8,508 shares of Echostar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.83, for a total transaction of $764,273.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,658.99. The trade was a 92.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William David Wade sold 2,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.65, for a total transaction of $238,573.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $254,694.85. This trade represents a 48.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,094 shares of company stock worth $7,587,592. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Echostar

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC bought a new stake in Echostar in the second quarter worth $4,568,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Echostar in the second quarter worth approximately $478,000. Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Echostar during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,541,000. Sigma Planning Corp bought a new position in Echostar in the second quarter valued at about $544,000. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Echostar in the second quarter worth approximately $924,000. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECHO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings started coverage on shares of Echostar in a research note on Monday, July 6th. They set a “sell (d-)” rating for the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Echostar from $126.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price objective on Echostar in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $137.00 price target on shares of Echostar in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Echostar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.00.

Echostar Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:ECHO traded down $1.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $86.92. 3,609,119 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,921,754. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 5.20 and a quick ratio of 5.12. The company has a market cap of $25.25 billion, a PE ratio of -3.49 and a beta of 1.03. Echostar has a 12-month low of $26.52 and a 12-month high of $147.25.

Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) last announced its quarterly 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Echostar will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Echostar Company Profile

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.