Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on HLIT. Northland Securities reduced their target price on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Harmonic has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.50.

Harmonic Stock Performance

HLIT opened at $10.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 31.30 and a beta of 0.87. Harmonic has a twelve month low of $8.42 and a twelve month high of $15.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $11.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 15.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Harmonic will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Harmonic by 412.4% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 193,310 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,817,000 after acquiring an additional 155,580 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $15,105,000 after acquiring an additional 34,405 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its holdings in 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 worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 21,643 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Harmonic by 2,191.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 152,401 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,220,000 after acquiring an additional 145,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Harmonic by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 58,108 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 11,051 shares in the last quarter. 99.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.