Trexquant Investment LP Acquires New Position in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 117,703 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,557,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.10% of Harmonic as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HLIT. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Harmonic by 40.3% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 201,386 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,934,000 after acquiring an additional 57,888 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Harmonic by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,675,268 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $38,986,000 after purchasing an additional 17,665 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Harmonic by 113.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 71,976 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 38,230 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Harmonic during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,292,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Harmonic by 6.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 39,041 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 2,207 shares during the period. 99.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Northland Securities cut their price objective on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Harmonic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.50.

Harmonic Stock Up 0.9 %

Harmonic stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.04. The stock had a trading volume of 106,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,268,912. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Harmonic Inc. has a one year low of $7.91 and a one year high of $15.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $9.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.83.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts expect that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the communications equipment provider to purchase up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Walter Jankovic purchased 12,000 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel T. Whalen acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.15 per share, for a total transaction of $30,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,726. This trade represents a 51.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 32,780 shares of company stock valued at $316,607. Corporate insiders own 2.36% of the company's stock.

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.