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

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

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on HLIT. Barclays decreased 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. Northland Securities decreased their price target on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Harmonic presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.50.

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Harmonic Stock Down 0.6 %

Harmonic stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $9.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,174,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,319,744. Harmonic has a 12 month low of $8.42 and a 12 month high of $15.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $10.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.28. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 29.43 and a beta of 0.87.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 15.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Harmonic will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Harmonic

In related news, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan purchased 7,780 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,356,241.05. This trade represents a 2.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic acquired 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 in the last three months. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HLIT. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Harmonic by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 36,100 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 203,300 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Harmonic by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,671 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 1,647 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Harmonic by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 30,154 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 1,944 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Harmonic by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 62,811 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $831,000 after buying an additional 2,146 shares in the last quarter. 99.38% of the stock is currently 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.