Kennedy Capital Management LLC Has $5.64 Million Stake in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) by 41.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 426,362 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 296,004 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.37% of Harmonic worth $5,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 2,191.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 152,401 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,220,000 after purchasing an additional 145,751 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Harmonic by 14.9% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,671 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Harmonic by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 201,386 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,934,000 after acquiring an additional 57,888 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Harmonic in the 3rd quarter worth about $740,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Harmonic by 414.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 201,976 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,944,000 after buying an additional 162,727 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Harmonic

In other news, CFO Walter Jankovic purchased 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,457.76. The trade was a 35.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Krall purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $97,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 163,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,932.20. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 32,780 shares of company stock valued at $316,607 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Northland Securities reduced their target price on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Harmonic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Harmonic currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.50.

Harmonic Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HLIT traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $8.86. The stock had a trading volume of 275,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,805. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.18. Harmonic Inc. has a one year low of $7.91 and a one year high of $15.46. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $9.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.79. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89 and a beta of 0.92.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts forecast that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 purchase up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Harmonic 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.