Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Upgraded to "Buy" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Northland Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Harmonic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $12.50 in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Harmonic currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.50.

Harmonic Price Performance

Shares of Harmonic stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $10.06. 2,592,129 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 907,712. Harmonic has a 1 year low of $8.42 and a 1 year high of $15.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 7.56%. As a group, research analysts predict that Harmonic will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the communications equipment provider to reacquire up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan acquired 7,780 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.65 per share, with a total value of $75,077.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 347,797 shares in the company, valued at $3,356,241.05. This trade represents a 2.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic acquired 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 46,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,457.76. This represents a 35.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 29,780 shares of company stock valued at $286,157 over the last 90 days. 2.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmonic

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Harmonic by 133.9% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 66,230 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 37,914 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Harmonic by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 355,773 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $4,707,000 after acquiring an additional 16,726 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Harmonic by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,252,837 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $16,575,000 after acquiring an additional 147,274 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its position in shares of Harmonic by 198.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 529,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Harmonic during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 99.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.