Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 59,482 Shares of EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 301.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,182 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,482 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $8,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SATS. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of EchoStar by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,933 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in EchoStar by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of EchoStar by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,800 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in EchoStar by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 30,118 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,274,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in EchoStar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. 33.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SATS has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. New Street Research set a $165.00 price target on EchoStar in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price objective on EchoStar in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Zacks Research cut EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, EchoStar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.71.

EchoStar Stock Performance

Shares of SATS stock opened at $103.80 on Friday. EchoStar Corporation has a 52-week low of $24.15 and a 52-week high of $147.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17. The stock has a market cap of $30.08 billion, a PE ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.01.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, May 9th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. EchoStar had a negative return on equity of 4.80% and a negative net margin of 97.56%.During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.71) earnings per share.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $6,362,906.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 865,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,741,593. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

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.