Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $8.15 and last traded at $8.30, with a volume of 363179 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Harmonic in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Harmonic currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.50.

Harmonic Stock Down 5.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $975.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $10.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.18.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, equities analysts expect that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Harmonic declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the communications equipment provider to repurchase up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Harmonic

In related news, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan purchased 7,780 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.65 per share, for a total transaction of $75,077.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 347,797 shares in the company, valued at $3,356,241.05. The trade was a 2.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic acquired 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,457.76. This represents a 35.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 32,780 shares of company stock valued at $316,607. 2.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmonic

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Harmonic by 3.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,036,729 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,105,000 after buying an additional 34,405 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Harmonic by 2,191.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 152,401 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,220,000 after purchasing an additional 145,751 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Harmonic by 23.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 58,108 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 11,051 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Harmonic by 14.9% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,671 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 1,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Harmonic by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,208,829 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $17,613,000 after buying an additional 555,737 shares during the period. 99.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Harmonic

Harmonic Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband solutions worldwide. The company operates through Broadband and Video segments. The Broadband segment sells broadband access solutions and related services, including cOS software-based broadband access solutions to broadband operators; and cOS central cloud services, a subscription service for cOS customers.