Hughes Communications Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of broadband satellite services specialist Hughes Communications (Nasdaq: HUGH  ) surged as much as 18% today, on news that it is putting itself up for sale.

So what: According to sources close to the matter, Hughes, which is 57% owned by private equity firm Apollo, has already garnered interest from several private equity firms and satellite companies. Apollo has been the majority shareholder in Hughes since 2004, and a sale would allow it to exit the investment at a three-year high.

Now what: I'd keep my distance from Hughes at this point. The shares are up about 140% over the past six months, so speculating that a deal will go down at even higher prices wouldn't exactly be prudent. With rivals Gilat Satellite Networks (Nasdaq: GILT  ) and ViaSat (Nasdaq: VSAT  ) both trading at a clear PEG discount to Hughes, there are certainly cheaper bets in the space.

Interested in more info on Hughes? Add it to your watchlist.