Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.50.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities decreased 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Harmonic

In other news, Director Daniel T. Whalen bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.15 per share, with a total value of $30,450.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,840 shares in the company, valued at $89,726. This represents a 51.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic purchased 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were bought 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 in the company, valued at $435,457.76. The trade was a 35.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 32,780 shares of company stock valued at $316,607 in the last ninety days. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLIT. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 274.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,439 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 6,184 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 117.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,187,528 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,302,000 after purchasing an additional 642,033 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,365 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,414 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Harmonic during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $833,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Harmonic during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $842,000. 99.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Harmonic Stock Up 0.7 %

Harmonic stock opened at $10.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24 and a beta of 0.89. Harmonic has a 1-year low of $8.42 and a 1-year high of $15.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.84. 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 (NASDAQ:HLIT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Harmonic will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.