Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Receives $12.50 Consensus PT from Analysts

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.50.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HLIT. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Harmonic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Northland Securities reduced their price objective on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, 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.

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Harmonic Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HLIT traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $10.19. 1,553,955 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,277,393. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.88 and a beta of 0.87. Harmonic has a 52-week low of $8.42 and a 52-week high of $15.46. 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 company's 50 day moving average price is $10.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.43.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last released its 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 net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 15.90%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Harmonic will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Harmonic declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the communications equipment provider to reacquire up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Harmonic

In other Harmonic news, CFO Walter Jankovic purchased 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,457.76. This trade represents a 35.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel T. Whalen purchased 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.15 per share, with a total value of $30,450.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 8,840 shares in the company, valued at $89,726. This represents a 51.37 % 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 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Harmonic in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 5,388.1% during the 4th 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 14,765.9% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 6,054 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 84.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,295 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Harmonic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $133,000. 99.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.