Raymond James says this satellite stock can jump 40% and could even double
Raymond James sees big gains ahead for satellite services company EchoStar . Analyst Ric Prentiss upgraded shares to strong buy from outperform. He set a base case price target of $28, which implies more than 44% upside from Friday's close. "We think the company is positioned very well at a critical juncture for the U.S. Satellite industry, driven by [a] significant strong balance sheet with $1.7B in cash and -$0.2B in net debt, and significant fallow S-Band spectrum holdings," Prentiss wrote in a Monday note. "And, with the launch of Jupiter 3 (J3) satellite on July 29, the company is moving from Horizon 1 of its strategic roadmap (pre-J3) to Horizon 2 (monetization of J3 capacity), and is actively working through possibilities for Horizon 3 (long-term strategic opportunities like M & A and S-Band monetization)," he added. The company's S-band opportunity remains large, Prentiss added. S-band refers to a frequency level critical to radars and satellite communication, used by shipping, aviation and space industries. EchoStar has S-band holdings worldwide that could generate significant revenue starting 2027, according to Prentiss. The analyst also set a bull case price target of $46, suggesting shares could rally up to 137% in an optimistic S-band expansion scenario. Shares surged nearly 14% Monday morning, reaching a new 52-week high. The stock has jumped more than 30% year to date. SATS YTD mountain SATS in 2023 — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.