Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,100,000 shares, a decrease of 8.8% from the November 30th total of 3,400,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLIT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James lowered Harmonic from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $14.00 to $12.50 in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Harmonic from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Harmonic currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.25.

Harmonic Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ HLIT traded down $0.01 on Wednesday, reaching $13.23. The company had a trading volume of 526,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 823,611. The company’s fifty day moving average is $12.76 and its 200-day moving average is $13.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.08. Harmonic has a 1-year low of $9.10 and a 1-year high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.09. Harmonic had a return on equity of 7.56% and a net margin of 13.62%. The company had revenue of $195.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.05) earnings per share. Harmonic’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Harmonic will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmonic

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Harmonic by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 246,944 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,598,000 after buying an additional 38,137 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Harmonic by 6.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 39,041 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,207 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Harmonic by 0.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 17,665 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Harmonic by 414.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 201,976 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,944,000 after purchasing an additional 162,727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Harmonic in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $740,000. 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.