Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

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Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Price of and Dividends on the Registrant’s Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters

Market Information. Our Class A common stock is quoted on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “SATS.” The high and low closing sale prices of our Class A common stock during 2012 and 2011 on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (as reported by Nasdaq) are set forth below.

2012HighLow
First Quarter$32.18$20.94
Second Quarter$29.52$25.30
Third Quarter$30.35$25.65
Fourth Quarter$34.86$28.40
2011HighLow
First Quarter$37.85$25.47
Second Quarter$37.62$32.00
Third Quarter$38.36$21.36
Fourth Quarter$26.80$20.35

As of February 11, 2013, there were approximately 10,665 holders of record of our Class A common stock, not including stockholders who beneficially own Class A common stock held in nominee or street name. As of February 11, 2013, 41,040,391 of the 47,687,039 outstanding shares of our Class B common stock were held by Charles W. Ergen, our Chairman, and the remaining 6,646,648 were held in a trust for members of Mr. Ergen’s family. There is currently no established trading market for our Class B common stock.

Dividends. We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock in the past two years. We currently do not intend to declare dividends on our common stock. Payment of any future dividends will depend upon our earnings, capital requirements, and other factors the Board of Directors considers appropriate. We currently intend to retain our earnings, if any, to support future growth and expansion although we expect to repurchase shares of our common stock from time to time. See further discussion under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans. See “Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

Pursuant to a stock repurchase plan approved by our Board of Directors, we are authorized to repurchase up to $500 million of our outstanding shares of Class A common stock through December 31, 2013. During the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, we did not repurchase any common stock under this plan. During the year ended December 31, 2010, we repurchased 34,000 shares of our Class A common stock for $605,000.

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