Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Short Interest Down 8.8% in December

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,100,000 shares, a drop of 8.8% from the November 30th total of 3,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company's stock are short sold.

Harmonic Price Performance

NASDAQ:HLIT traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $13.23. The company had a trading volume of 526,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 823,611. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.07. Harmonic has a one year low of $9.10 and a one year high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.09. Harmonic had a return on equity of 7.56% and a net margin of 13.62%. The firm had revenue of $195.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.05) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 53.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Harmonic will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Harmonic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $12.50 in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Raymond James lowered Harmonic from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $17.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Harmonic in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Northland Securities lowered their price target on Harmonic from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Harmonic presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.25.

Institutional Trading of Harmonic

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Harmonic by 88.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 272,477 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $3,207,000 after purchasing an additional 127,752 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 3.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 849,530 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $9,999,000 after purchasing an additional 31,787 shares during the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of Harmonic by 2.6% in the second quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 117,918 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,388,000 after buying an additional 2,938 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Harmonic by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 320,516 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $3,772,000 after buying an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in Harmonic by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 121,863 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,434,000 after acquiring an additional 23,486 shares during the last quarter. 99.38% of the stock is 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.