Analysts Set Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) PT at $12.50

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.50.

Several brokerages have commented on HLIT. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Northland Securities cut their target price on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

Harmonic Stock Down 1.5 %

HLIT stock opened at $10.19 on Wednesday. Harmonic has a twelve month low of $8.42 and a twelve month high of $15.46. 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 PE ratio of 30.88 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.90 and a 200 day moving average of $12.43.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Harmonic will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, February 10th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the communications equipment provider to purchase up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Harmonic

In related news, Director Daniel T. Whalen bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.15 per share, with a total value of $30,450.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 8,840 shares in the company, valued at $89,726. This trade represents a 51.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic bought 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmonic

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Harmonic by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,063,328 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $146,368,000 after purchasing an additional 235,188 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Harmonic by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,788,714 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $103,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300,128 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Harmonic by 9,004.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,719,837 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $62,443,000 after acquiring an additional 4,667,996 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Harmonic by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,675,268 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $38,986,000 after acquiring an additional 17,665 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Harmonic by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,145,357 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,383,000 after acquiring an additional 175,133 shares during the period. 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.