Analysts Set Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Price Target at $12.50

Shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.50.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HLIT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Northland Securities cut their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Harmonic in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Harmonic Trading Down 1.5 %

Harmonic stock opened at $10.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.90 and a 200 day moving average of $12.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.88 and a beta of 0.87. Harmonic has a 12-month low of $8.42 and a 12-month high of $15.46. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Harmonic will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Harmonic declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the communications equipment provider to purchase up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Walter Jankovic acquired 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.44 per share, with a total value of $113,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $435,457.76. This represents a 35.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel T. Whalen acquired 3,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,726. This trade represents a 51.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HLIT. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Harmonic during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake 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 valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 5,442 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 6,054 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake 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 valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Harmonic during the fourth quarter valued at $133,000. 99.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Harmonic Company Profile

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.