Insider Buying: Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) CFO Buys $113,280.00 in Stock

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) CFO Walter Jankovic bought 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was bought 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 owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,457.76. The trade was a 35.16 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Harmonic Trading Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:HLIT opened at $10.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 0.89. 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 50 day simple moving average of $12.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.05. Harmonic Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.42 and a 12 month high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a return on equity of 7.56% and a net margin of 13.62%. Research analysts forecast that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Harmonic announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the communications equipment provider to buy up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Northland Securities cut their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $14.00 to $12.50 in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmonic

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Harmonic by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,063,328 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $146,368,000 after buying an additional 235,188 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Harmonic by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,788,714 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $103,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300,128 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Harmonic by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,145,357 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $28,383,000 after purchasing an additional 175,133 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in Harmonic by 15.3% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,659,823 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $24,184,000 after purchasing an additional 219,685 shares in 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.