Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Given New $14.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $18.00 to $14.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 25.90% from the stock’s current price.

HLIT has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays lowered Harmonic from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Raymond James downgraded shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Harmonic in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Northland Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $12.50 in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.83.

Harmonic Price Performance

Shares of HLIT stock opened at $11.12 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.61 and its 200 day moving average is $13.13. Harmonic has a 1-year low of $9.10 and a 1-year high of $15.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 0.89.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 7.56% and a net margin of 13.62%. Research analysts predict that Harmonic will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the communications equipment provider to reacquire up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLIT. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Harmonic by 117.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Harmonic by 14,765.9% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 6,054 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Harmonic by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,295 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 2,888 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Harmonic by 274.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,439 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 6,184 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in Harmonic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,000. 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.