Daniel T. Whalen Acquires 3,000 Shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Stock

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Director Daniel T. Whalen acquired 3,000 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.15 per share, with a total value of $30,450.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 8,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,726. This represents a 51.37 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Harmonic Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of HLIT stock opened at $10.15 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $11.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.86. Harmonic Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.42 and a 12-month high of $15.46.

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

Harmonic declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the communications equipment provider to reacquire up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on HLIT. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of 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 research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Northland Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.50.

Institutional Trading of Harmonic

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLIT. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 18.1% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,365 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 5,414 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP bought a new position in Harmonic during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $833,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Harmonic in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $842,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new stake in Harmonic in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,915,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Harmonic during the third quarter valued at approximately $227,000. 99.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.