Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $11.92, but opened at $12.50. Harmonic shares last traded at $12.12, with a volume of 83,303 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on HLIT shares. Raymond James downgraded Harmonic from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Harmonic from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Northland Securities dropped their price objective on Harmonic from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Harmonic in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Harmonic has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $15.25.

Harmonic Trading Up 0.3 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $13.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.89.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $195.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $181.77 million. Harmonic had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 7.56%. The business's revenue was up 53.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.05) EPS. Research analysts predict that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLIT. CWM LLC raised its position in Harmonic by 780.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,255 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Harmonic by 117.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Harmonic in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Harmonic in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Harmonic in the third quarter valued at approximately $166,000. 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.