35,280 Shares in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Purchased by Jump Financial LLC

Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 35,280 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $467,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Harmonic by 5,388.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,543 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 5,442 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Harmonic by 14,765.9% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 6,054 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Harmonic by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,295 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in Harmonic during the 4th quarter worth $137,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Harmonic during the 4th quarter worth about $146,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Harmonic news, CFO Walter Jankovic bought 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,457.76. The trade was a 35.16 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Krall bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $97,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 163,490 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,932.20. The trade was a 6.52 % 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 over the last quarter. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Harmonic Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ HLIT traded up $0.14 on Friday, hitting $9.21. 653,634 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,212,980. 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 company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.67 and a 200-day moving average of $11.52. Harmonic Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.91 and a 12 month high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 5.78% and a return on equity of 15.90%. As a group, analysts forecast that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Harmonic announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 10th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the communications equipment provider to buy up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HLIT. Barclays lowered their price objective on Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Harmonic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Harmonic presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.50.

Harmonic 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.