Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

HLIT has been the topic of several other research reports. Northland Securities dropped their target price on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James cut Harmonic from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $12.50 in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.50.

Harmonic Stock Performance

HLIT opened at $10.06 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.35 and its 200-day moving average is $13.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Harmonic has a twelve month low of $8.42 and a twelve month high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a return on equity of 7.56% and a net margin of 13.62%. On average, analysts predict that Harmonic will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Activity

In other Harmonic news, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan bought 7,780 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.65 per share, for a total transaction of $75,077.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,356,241.05. This trade represents a 2.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic bought 12,000 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.44 per share, with a total value of $113,280.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,457.76. This represents a 35.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 29,780 shares of company stock worth $286,157 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmonic

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Harmonic in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Harmonic by 117.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Harmonic by 5,388.1% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,543 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 5,442 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Harmonic by 14,765.9% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 6,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Harmonic by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,295 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 2,888 shares during the last quarter. 99.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Harmonic Company Profile

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.