Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Short Interest Update

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,680,000 shares, a drop of 13.0% from the September 15th total of 4,230,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,190,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Harmonic Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HLIT traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.30. 566,945 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,522,845. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.83 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.87. Harmonic has a 1 year low of $9.10 and a 1 year high of $15.31.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $138.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $133.67 million. Harmonic had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 0.27%. The company’s revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Harmonic will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Harmonic news, SVP Neven Haltmayer sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.41, for a total value of $576,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,761,060.51. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearline Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Harmonic by 777.6% in the second quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 1,570,461 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $18,484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,504 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Harmonic by 1,276.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,203,297 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $16,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,870 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Harmonic by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,796,165 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $114,702,000 after purchasing an additional 990,425 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 1,952.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 978,127 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $11,513,000 after buying an additional 930,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Harmonic in the second quarter valued at about $7,687,000. 99.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLIT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Harmonic in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.50.

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.