Avala Global LP Invests $50.50 Million in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Avala Global LP acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 464,600 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $50,502,000. EchoStar accounts for approximately 2.4% of Avala Global LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Avala Global LP owned 0.16% of EchoStar as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SATS. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar during the third quarter worth $2,481,700,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar during the fourth quarter worth $568,218,000. Icahn Carl C acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar during the third quarter worth $332,513,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of EchoStar by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,524,576 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $382,595,000 after purchasing an additional 48,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd grew its stake in shares of EchoStar by 68.6% during the fourth quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd now owns 2,181,728 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $237,154,000 after purchasing an additional 887,611 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at EchoStar

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $6,362,906.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 865,633 shares of the company’s stock, 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 the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar Trading Down 7.7%

NASDAQ SATS opened at $111.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.23 and a beta of 0.94. EchoStar Corporation has a 52-week low of $24.15 and a 52-week high of $147.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $125.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Williams Trading set a $155.00 target price on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, EchoStar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.71.

EchoStar Company Profile

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.