Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $8.15 and last traded at $8.30, with a volume of 363179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLIT has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Harmonic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Northland Securities decreased their target price on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Harmonic currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.50.

Harmonic Price Performance

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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 0.92.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Harmonic declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, February 10th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the communications equipment provider to reacquire up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Harmonic

In other Harmonic news, Director Daniel T. Whalen bought 3,000 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.15 per share, with a total value of $30,450.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,840 shares in the company, valued at $89,726. This represents a 51.37 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan acquired 7,780 shares of Harmonic 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,356,241.05. This trade represents a 2.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 over the last three months. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased 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. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 58,108 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 11,051 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings 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 worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Harmonic by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 201,386 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,934,000 after acquiring an additional 57,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Harmonic during the third quarter worth about $740,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.38% of the company's stock.

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.