AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 6,054 Shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) by 14,765.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,054 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Harmonic were worth $81,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $38,986,000 after buying an additional 17,665 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in Harmonic by 15.3% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,659,823 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $24,184,000 after purchasing an additional 219,685 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Harmonic by 85.1% during the third 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. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in Harmonic by 12.0% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,107,668 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $16,139,000 after purchasing an additional 118,377 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Harmonic by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,057,570 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,992,000 after purchasing an additional 20,841 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HLIT shares. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Harmonic in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Harmonic presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.50.

Insider Transactions at Harmonic

In related news, CFO Walter Jankovic bought 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.44 per share, with a total value of $113,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,457.76. The trade was a 35.16 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel T. Whalen bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.15 per share, with a total value of $30,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,726. This represents a 51.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 32,780 shares of company stock valued at $316,607 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

Harmonic Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HLIT opened at $10.33 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 31.30 and a beta of 0.87. Harmonic Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.42 and a 1 year high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last announced 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 net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Equities analysts anticipate that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the communications equipment provider to purchase up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.