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The Satellite News Financial Ticker

By Staff Writer | April 12, 2004

      Week of April 2 – 8, 2004
      Percentage Change
      Operators
      Symbol
      April 8 Price
      One Week
      One Month
      Three Month
      Year to Date
      APT SATELLITE HLDGS ATS
      1.96
      (1.5)
      (19.7)
      (31.0)
      (17.6)
      ASIASAT TELECOM SAT
      18.00
      0.6
      (11.1)
      (16.5)
      (5.2)
      BRITISH SKY BROADCASTING BSY
      50.53
      (0.9)
      (6.4)
      (7.3)
      (0.8)
      ECHOSTAR COMM -CL A DISH
      33.08
      1.0
      (4.3)
      (7.6)
      (2.7)
      THE DIRECTV GROUP DTV
      16.27
      5.8
      (1.7)
      0.4
      (1.7)
      LORAL SPACE & COMM LOR
      0.56
      (5.1)
      (30.0)
      80.6
      77.8
      NEWS CORP NWS
      38.10
      5.9
      1.2
      4.7
      5.5
      NEW SKIES SATELLITES NSK
      7.00
      4.8
      5.6
      (5.3)
      (2.2)
      PANAMSAT SPOT
      24.51
      0.1
      3.0
      17.6
      13.7
      PASIFIK SATELIT NUSANTARA PSNRY
      0.15
      7.1
      (40.0)
      (21.1)
      200.0
      PEGASUS COMMUNICATIONS PGTV
      34.89
      (8.9)
      (14.9)
      13.9
      24.3
      SES GLOBAL SESF.LU
      7.00
      (4.1)
      (4.6)
      (10.3)
      (12.5)
      SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO SIRI
      3.84
      12.9
      25.9
      21.1
      21.5
      XM SATELLITE RADIO XMSR
      29.60
      6.0
      13.1
      9.2
      12.6
      Operators’ Average
      100.00
      1.7
      (6.0)
      3.5
      22.3
      Manufacturers
      ANDREW ANDW
      20.77
      18.7
      11.4
      57.3
      79.2
      BALL BLL
      69.92
      3.2
      5.7
      20.6
      17.4
      BOEING BA
      41.35
      0.7
      (3.2)
      (2.2)
      (1.9)
      COM DEV INTL *CDV
      2.75
      3.8
      1.9
      (9.2)
      (4.5)
      EMS TECHNOLOGIES ELMG
      21.75
      13.5
      0.4
      (4.6)
      5.9
      GARMIN GRMN
      42.57
      (0.3)
      (7.5)
      (25.8)
      (21.9)
      GILAT SAT NETWORKS GILTF
      8.85
      (0.2)
      14.2
      56.1
      81.0
      GLOBECOM GCOM
      5.44
      (2.9)
      (15.0)
      13.6
      14.5
      HARRIS HRS
      50.20
      3.7
      6.2
      29.7
      32.3
      HONEYWELL HON
      34.66
      2.4
      (0.9)
      2.8
      3.7
      KVH KVHI
      14.33
      (0.6)
      (10.9)
      (33.3)
      (48.0)
      LOCKHEED MARTIN LMT
      47.54
      4.2
      5.5
      (5.1)
      (7.5)
      LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES LU
      4.45
      8.3
      8.5
      26.8
      56.7
      MOTOROLA MOT
      18.15
      3.1
      0.4
      20.5
      29.6
      ORBITAL SCIENCES ORB
      12.88
      2.8
      2.0
      3.2
      7.2
      QUALCOMM QCOM
      67.38
      1.6
      5.5
      20.8
      24.9
      RAYTHEON RTN
      31.88
      1.7
      1.1
      5.7
      6.1
      ROCKWELL COLLINS COL
      32.24
      2.0
      (0.4)
      8.2
      7.4
      SCIENTIFIC-ATLANTA SFA
      34.15
      5.6
      0.1
      13.9
      25.1
      SKY FRAMES SKYU
      0.10
      –
      –
      9,900.0
      –
      TITAN TTN
      19.55
      (3.2)
      (6.6)
      (10.2)
      (10.4)
      TRIMBLE NAVIGATION TRMB
      24.17
      5.2
      3.1
      (7.0)
      (2.6)
      VIASAT VSAT
      25.74
      3.5
      (10.3)
      17.7
      34.5
      Manufacturers’ Average
      100.00
      3.3
      0.5
      439.1
      14.3
      Nasdaq Composite Index
      Nasdaq comp
      2,052.88
      2.9
      0.3
      (1.2)
      2.5
      SP 500 sp50
      1,139.33
      1.2
      (1.5)
      1.2
      2.5
      SN Stock Price Average
      100.00
      2.7
      (2.0)
      274.3
      17.3

      Wall Street Analysis

      By Paul Dykewicz, PBI Media LLC

      EchoStar Communications [DISH] has been a favorite stock pick of Wall Street satellite analysts for a number of years but the love-fest is starting to cool.

      Rival DirecTV [DTV], now owned by News Corp [NWS], has been showing renewed strength in generating new subscribers and boosting the revenue that each one provides to the company. During the past year, EchoStar has hurt its own sales with hardware- distribution issues, it has run afoul of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) due to an accounting glitch, and it turned off Viacom-owned [VIA] CBS affiliates and cable programming for two days as part of a dispute involving programming-rights fees.

      Thomas Eagan, a satellite and cable analyst at Oppenheimer, has a “neutral” rating on EchoStar. Last Thursday, he reiterated his position despite a nearly 20-percent drop in the U.S. satellite TV company’s stock price during the past six weeks. Eagan expects “lackluster” EchoStar first quarter results. Further trouble is ahead if Congress approves language in the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act (SHVIA) reauthorization that hurts EchoStar but not DirecTV, he added.

      In addition, EchoStar’s recent battle over programming-rights fees with Viacom may recur with Time Warner’s [TWX] Turner networks, including CNN, Headline News, TCM and other popular channels, Eagan explained. A turnoff of Turner channels would hurt EchoStar’s second-quarter results. One reason is that subscribers may drop the EchoStar service altogether, Eagan explained in a research note. He estimated EchoStar likely lost 10,000 subscribers more than usual during the first quarter due to its inability to offer Viacom channels for two days during a programming-rights conflict. EchoStar’s decision to give its customers a $1 credit for the month when the Viacom fight occurred hurts the subscription service’s average revenue per user (ARPU) for the first quarter, Eagan added.

      EchoStar’s battles with programmers may be the company’s attempt to disrupt current trends that favor DirecTV, Eagan said. If EchoStar persists in shutting down channels in tiffs about programming fees, the company’s prospects will dim further.

      Paul Dykewicz is senior editor and senior analyst of Satellite News. He can be reached at 301/354-1769 or at [email protected].

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