StockNews.com Upgrades Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) to Buy

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

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Harmonic in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Northland Securities lowered 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. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Harmonic currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.50.

Harmonic Stock Performance

Harmonic stock opened at $9.94 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.34. 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 has a 1-year low of $8.42 and a 1-year high of $15.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 30.12 and a beta of 0.87.

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%. As a group, analysts expect that Harmonic will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the communications equipment provider to repurchase up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Harmonic

In related news, CFO Walter Jankovic bought 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $435,457.76. The trade was a 35.16 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan purchased 7,780 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.65 per share, for a total transaction of $75,077.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Harmonic in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Harmonic by 5,388.1% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,543 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 5,442 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Harmonic by 14,765.9% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 6,054 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Harmonic by 84.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,295 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Harmonic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $133,000. 99.38% of the stock is currently 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.