MoffettNathanson sets price target for EchoStar after Dish merger

MoffettNathanson set an $11 price target for shares of EchoStar following the merger completion with Dish. “The merger buys Dish some time… but not much,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says EchoStar’s net cash balance sheet and positive free cash flow can potentially be levered to fund Dish’s near-term maturities, delaying additional funding needs. “But not by long,” according to MoffettNathanson. Dish is still facing a $3B maturity in 2024 at a time when its secured debt trades at low-teens yield and its unsecured issues trade well above 20%, the firm explains. It says the EchoStar deal “was arguably Dish’s best/only option.”