California State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Position in Echostar CORP $ECHO

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 206,835 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,522 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Echostar were worth $24,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECHO. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Echostar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Echostar during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Echostar in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Echostar in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, BOKF NA increased its stake in Echostar by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. BOKF NA now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Echostar Stock Performance

ECHO opened at $84.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.68 and a beta of 1.00. Echostar CORP has a 52 week low of $26.04 and a 52 week high of $147.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17.

Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter. Echostar had a negative net margin of 97.56% and a negative return on equity of 4.80%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts anticipate that Echostar CORP will post -1.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Echostar

In other news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $6,362,906.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 865,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,741,593. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ECHO shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on Echostar in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $126.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Echostar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Echostar from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. New Street Research set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Echostar in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Echostar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.25.

Echostar 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.