Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Receives $12.50 Average Target Price from Analysts

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HLIT shares. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Northland Securities reduced their target price on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Raymond James cut Harmonic from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $17.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Harmonic Price Performance

HLIT opened at $10.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46 and a beta of 0.89. Harmonic has a 1 year low of $8.42 and a 1 year high of $15.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Harmonic will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Krall acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $97,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 163,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,598,932.20. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan acquired 7,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.65 per share, for a total transaction of $75,077.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,797 shares in the company, valued at $3,356,241.05. This represents a 2.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 29,780 shares of company stock worth $286,157. Corporate insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Harmonic by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 36,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Harmonic by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 203,300 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,324 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Harmonic by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,671 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Harmonic by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 30,154 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Harmonic by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 62,811 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

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.