Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on HLIT. Northland Securities decreased their price objective on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.50.

Harmonic Stock Performance

Shares of Harmonic stock traded down $0.35 during trading on Monday, reaching $9.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,351,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,412,554. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $11.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.18 and a beta of 0.87. Harmonic has a one year low of $8.42 and a one year high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 5.78%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Harmonic will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Harmonic announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, February 10th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the communications equipment provider to purchase up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Harmonic news, Director David Krall bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.78 per share, with a total value of $97,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 163,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,598,932.20. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic bought 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,457.76. This trade represents a 35.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 32,780 shares of company stock valued at $316,607. 2.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Harmonic

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Harmonic during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 5,388.1% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,543 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 5,442 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 14,765.9% during 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 period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 84.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,295 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Harmonic during the fourth quarter worth $133,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.