StockNews.com Downgrades Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Northland Securities lowered their target price on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.50.

Harmonic Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of HLIT stock opened at $10.19 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.43. Harmonic has a 12-month low of $8.42 and a 12-month high of $15.46. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.88 and a beta of 0.87.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last issued its quarterly 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 will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Transactions at Harmonic

In other Harmonic news, CFO Walter Jankovic acquired 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.44 per share, with a total value of $113,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $435,457.76. The trade was a 35.16 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel T. Whalen acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.15 per share, for a total transaction of $30,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,840 shares in the company, valued at $89,726. This represents a 51.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 32,780 shares of company stock valued at $316,607 in the last ninety days. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmonic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 412.4% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 193,310 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,817,000 after buying an additional 155,580 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 3.4% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 147.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 36,345 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 21,643 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Harmonic by 2,191.7% in the 3rd 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. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Harmonic by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 58,108 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 11,051 shares in the last quarter. 99.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.