Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HLIT shares. StockNews.com raised Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Northland Securities reduced their price target on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Harmonic

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmonic

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $62,443,000 after buying an additional 4,667,996 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Harmonic by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,788,714 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $103,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300,128 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its position in Harmonic by 198.2% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 797,176 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,547,000 after purchasing an additional 529,833 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Harmonic by 175.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 681,425 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,015,000 after purchasing an additional 434,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in shares of Harmonic by 1,583.7% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 435,852 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,766,000 after purchasing an additional 409,966 shares in the last quarter. 99.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Harmonic Stock Performance

NASDAQ HLIT opened at $8.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 26.97 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.78 and a 200-day moving average of $11.70. Harmonic has a 52-week low of $7.91 and a 52-week high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Harmonic will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Harmonic declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.