StockNews.com Downgrades Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Northland Securities lowered their price target on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.50.

Remove Ads

Harmonic Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of HLIT traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $10.14. 892,251 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,390,283. The firm's 50 day moving average is $11.36 and its 200-day moving average is $12.63. Harmonic has a 52 week low of $8.42 and a 52 week high of $15.46. 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 company has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 30.73 and a beta of 0.87.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Harmonic will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 buy up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Harmonic news, CFO Walter Jankovic purchased 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, 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 $435,457.76. The trade was a 35.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel T. Whalen acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.15 per share, for a total transaction of $30,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,726. The trade was a 51.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Harmonic by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 36,100 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Harmonic by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 203,300 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,324 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Harmonic by 14.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Harmonic by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 30,154 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Harmonic by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 62,811 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146 shares during the last quarter. 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.