Geode Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS)

Geode Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,914,676 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 95,172 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.07% of EchoStar worth $72,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,230,000. State Street Corp grew its position in EchoStar by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,776,238 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $118,546,000 after purchasing an additional 62,674 shares during the last quarter. Stonehill Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the third quarter valued at approximately $9,235,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP raised its stake in shares of EchoStar by 44.8% in the third quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $74,460,000 after purchasing an additional 927,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in EchoStar by 69.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 28,254 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $701,000 after acquiring an additional 11,586 shares during the period. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

EchoStar Stock Performance

Shares of EchoStar stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $22.75. The company had a trading volume of 4,877,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,800,669. The stock has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.48 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. EchoStar Co. has a 12-month low of $11.83 and a 12-month high of $30.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James downgraded EchoStar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded EchoStar to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on EchoStar from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.50.

Insider Activity at EchoStar

In related news, Chairman Charles W. Ergen acquired 1,551,355 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,499,994.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,551,355 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,499,994.20. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 55.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

EchoStar Profile

EchoStar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides networking technologies and services worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Pay-TV, Retail Wireless, 5G Network Deployment, Broadband and Satellite Services. The Pay-TV segment offers a direct broadcast and fixed satellite services; designs, develops, and distributes receiver system; and provides digital broadcast operations, including satellite uplinking/downlinking, transmission and, other services to third-party pay-TV providers; and multichannel, live-linear and on-demand streaming over-the-top internet-based domestic, international, Latino, and Freestream video programming services under the DISH and SLING brand names.