Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Short Interest Up 19.7% in March

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,790,000 shares, an increase of 19.7% from the March 15th total of 2,330,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Walter Jankovic acquired 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 $435,457.76. This represents a 35.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan purchased 7,780 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.65 per share, with a total value of $75,077.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,356,241.05. The trade was a 2.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 over the last quarter. 2.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 9,004.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,719,837 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $62,443,000 after acquiring an additional 4,667,996 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Harmonic by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,788,714 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $103,045,000 after buying an additional 1,300,128 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its holdings in Harmonic by 198.2% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 797,176 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $10,547,000 after buying an additional 529,833 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Harmonic by 175.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 681,425 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $9,015,000 after acquiring an additional 434,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its position in Harmonic by 1,583.7% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 435,852 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $5,766,000 after acquiring an additional 409,966 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.38% of the company's stock.

Harmonic Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HLIT traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $9.14. The stock had a trading volume of 102,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,245,570. The company's 50 day moving average is $9.70 and its 200-day moving average is $11.58. Harmonic has a 12-month low of $7.91 and a 12-month high of $15.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.18. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 27.68 and a beta of 0.92.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 5.78%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Harmonic will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Harmonic Company 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.