Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,010,000 shares, an increase of 9.3% from the October 15th total of 3,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Harmonic Price Performance

Shares of HLIT traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $11.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,360,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,522,632. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50-day moving average is $13.40 and its 200 day moving average is $12.76. Harmonic has a 12-month low of $9.10 and a 12-month high of $15.46.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLIT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Harmonic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $12.50 in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Northland Securities cut their price target on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on Harmonic from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Harmonic from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $15.25.

Institutional Trading of Harmonic

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 1,276.3% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,203,297 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $16,172,000 after buying an additional 1,115,870 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Harmonic by 216.5% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 545,495 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $6,420,000 after purchasing an additional 373,155 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Harmonic by 24.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 290,842 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $3,909,000 after purchasing an additional 56,269 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Harmonic during the third quarter valued at approximately $833,000. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Harmonic in the first quarter worth approximately $8,295,000. 99.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.