EchoStar rises as analysts upgrade stock ahead of potential SpaceX IPO

EchoStar rose Wednesday as Wall Street digested recent reports that Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s SpaceX is planning an IPO next year.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded satellite operator EchoStar — the current owner of Dish Network and Boost Mobile cell services — to “overweight” (or buy) from “equal weight” (or hold) and upped their price target for the stock to $110 from $82.

In September, EchoStar struck a $17 billion deal — $8.5 billion in cash and $8.5 billion in SpaceX stock — to let SpaceX use some of its spectrum rights. EchoStar expanded that deal in November, selling additional spectrum rights to SpaceX for $2.7 billion in stock.

So, a massive IPO valuation for SpaceX would obviously be a good thing for EchoStar shareholders.

Morgan Stanley analysts wrote:

“EchoStar is receiving SpaceX shares at $212 per SpaceX share. Every $100 of SpaceX share price equals $18/SATS share in value, or 20% to SATS equity. The WSJ reported that SpaceX is launching a secondary sale valuing the company at $800bn, although the CEO denied that was the case. At that $400+/share valuation, our SATS bull case would move to $150.”

EchoStar’s surging performance this year — it’s up 330% — has largely come as the company has shifted to selling access to its stockpile of spectrum rights after pressure from the Trump administration’s FCC.

In August, it inked a deal to sell spectrum rights to AT&T for $23 billion in cash, sending its shares up 70% in a single session. Morgan Stanley analysts see continued strong demand for spectrum assets from wireless companies as another reason for optimism around EchoStar shares.

“Spectrum is an appreciating asset,” they wrote. “And we expect both Verizon and T-Mobile to be aggressive.”