Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Northland Securities cut their price target on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.50.

Harmonic Trading Down 0.6 %

HLIT opened at $9.71 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.30. Harmonic has a 1-year low of $8.42 and a 1-year high of $15.46. The company has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43 and a beta of 0.87. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 5.78%. Analysts predict that Harmonic will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Harmonic

In related news, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan bought 7,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $9.65 per share, for a total transaction of $75,077.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,797 shares in the company, valued at $3,356,241.05. The trade was a 2.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic purchased 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.44 per share, with a total value of $113,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $435,457.76. The trade was a 35.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607. Insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmonic

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Harmonic by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 201,386 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,934,000 after acquiring an additional 57,888 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Harmonic by 0.7% during the 3rd 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. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Harmonic by 113.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 71,976 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 38,230 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Harmonic by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,208,829 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,613,000 after purchasing an additional 555,737 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Harmonic by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 39,041 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,207 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.