Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Friday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on HLIT. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Harmonic in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on Harmonic from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Northland Securities lowered their price target on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.33.

Harmonic Stock Performance

Shares of HLIT opened at $9.49 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Harmonic has a 12 month low of $7.91 and a 12 month high of $15.46. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.76 and a beta of 1.04.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06. Harmonic had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 5.78%. The business had revenue of $133.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $127.51 million. Harmonic’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Harmonic will post 0.31 earnings per share 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmonic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in Harmonic in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Harmonic by 132.6% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,119 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 4,058 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings 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 worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 5,442 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Harmonic by 14,765.9% in the 4th 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. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Harmonic by 84.8% in the 4th 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. 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.