One of the stated goals of this column is to test the adage, “a rising tide lifts all ships.” Last week, we had the first real opportunity since the inception of the column to do just that.

The good news out of the satellite sector once again came from the consumer side of the industry. The DirecTV Group Inc. kicked off last week with the reporting of its first quarter financials May 2, which included revenues of $3.15 billion, an increase of 26 percent from first quarter revenues in 2004 and the narrowing of the company’s net loss from $639 million to $41 million during the same period. DirecTV also reported a record 505,000 net subscriber additions to its direct-to-home satellite television service and also posted a record 1.14 million gross subscriber additions. DirecTV reported an increase in average monthly revenue per subscriber to $65.78 in the first quarter of 2005, up from $63.57 in the first quarter of 2004. Churn increased slightly during the period, growing to 1.49 percent in the just finished first quarter from 1.43 percent during the same period last year.

Those numbers were well received by the Wall Street analyst community and the company’s stock price reacted accordingly, jumping from $14.12 per share at the close of the markets on April 29 to $14.87 May 2. The stock continued to rise and finished May 5, the last full day of trading before this issue went to press, at $14.98.

DirecTV was not the only stock to receive a boost.

The share price of Panamsat also jumped, breaking the $18 barrier (the stock’s price at the time of its IPO) for the first time since the stock went public March 17. On May 2, the day of DirecTV’s quarterly earnings report, more than 1.6 million shares of Panamsat changed hands, a volume the stock has not experienced since March 28. May 2 also was the first day the stock’s trading high broke the $18 mark, topping out at $18.10 before ending the day at $17.98. But the momentum held during the week, with the stock closing at $18 the very next day and topping out at $18.11 before ending the last full day of trading before this issue went to press at $18.01.

The jump is significant in that the Panamsat PR machine put out no real news and the company’s first quarter results won’t be announced until May 16. However, Bear Stearns did initiate coverage of the stock May 4, setting the year-end target price at $20 and giving the stock a peer perform rating, meaning the stock is projected to perform approximately in line with analyst’s industry coverage universe over the next 12 months.

In its May 4 equity research report, Bear Stearns said the investment highlights of Panamsat’s stock include “attractive dividend yield, substantial contract backlog tied up in long-term contracts, leading North American video franchise potential growth form the government business segment and high barriers to entry into the Fixes Satellite Services Market.” Investment risks include “aggressive dividend policy and high leverage may limit flexibility, limited satellite insurance which could be an issue in the event of a satellite failure, increase in competition, potential selling shareholders overhang and controlled company status.”

Other consumer satellite companies saw their stocks rise last week as well, at least in the short term, including Sirius Satellite Radio (closed at $4.76 on April 29, jumping to $4.99 on May 2 and closed May 5 at $5.32) and EchoStar Communications Corp. (closed at $28.95 on April 29, increased slightly to $29.01 before topping out during the week on May 4 at $29.86). XM Satellite Radio didn’t get the May 2 boost its counterparts received, but it closed May 5 with three consecutive days of increasing closing prices.