Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on HLIT. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on 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 assumed coverage on Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Northland Securities reduced 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. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.50.

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Harmonic Price Performance

Harmonic stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $10.19. 1,553,955 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,277,393. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.43. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 30.88 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Harmonic has a 12 month low of $8.42 and a 12 month high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last issued its 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Harmonic will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan bought 7,780 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.65 per share, for a total transaction of $75,077.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,356,241.05. This represents a 2.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic acquired 12,000 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.44 per share, with a total value of $113,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,457.76. This trade represents a 35.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 32,780 shares of company stock valued at $316,607 in the last ninety days. 2.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Harmonic

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLIT. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Harmonic by 412.4% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 193,310 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,817,000 after buying an additional 155,580 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Harmonic by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,036,729 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $15,105,000 after acquiring an additional 34,405 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its stake in shares of Harmonic by 147.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 36,345 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 21,643 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 2,191.7% in 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. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Harmonic by 23.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 58,108 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 11,051 shares in the last quarter. 99.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.