Analyst: EchoStar offers cheap access to SpaceX stake

New Street analyst David Barden raised his price target on EchoStar to $165, pointing to the company’s stake in newly public SpaceX. Barden valued EchoStar’s roughly 262 million SPCX shares at about $42 billion, using SPCX’s $161 close on its Nasdaq debut.

The new target implies roughly 40% upside from EchoStar’s prior close. EchoStar shares traded near $121 at the time of the note, about 15% below their late-May peak. New Street’s analysis suggests the market is valuing EchoStar’s SpaceX exposure at about $86 per EchoStar share, well below SPCX’s public price of $161.

EchoStar completed transactions that included the sale of wireless spectrum to AT&T and SpaceX, leaving the company with a significant equity stake in SPCX. The company also runs a telecommunications business that contributed steady cash flow: more than 6 million pay-TV subscribers at the end of the first quarter, including about 4.8 million on Dish TV and 1.79 million on Sling TV, and customers for its Boost Mobile brand.

Barden reduced his valuation of EchoStar’s AWS-3 spectrum to $3 per MHz-pop from $3.62, lowering his estimate of the standalone business value from about $10 billion to roughly $8.3 billion.

On technicals, Barden noted a clear move above $124, near the 20-day moving average, would likely increase bullish momentum. Options market activity showed a put-to-call ratio near 0.24 for contracts expiring in mid-October, reflecting more call than put interest. EchoStar trades at about 2.2 times sales.

Other analysts remain mostly constructive: the consensus rating on EchoStar is Moderate Buy, with an average price target around $143, implying nearly 20% upside from the levels cited in the note. In his client note, Barden wrote, “We believe owning SpaceX stock via EchoStar at these levels is an attractive proposition.”