Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,230,000 shares, a drop of 7.8% from the August 31st total of 4,590,000 shares. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Harmonic Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HLIT traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.96. 436,222 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,571,527. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $13.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42 and a beta of 0.87. Harmonic has a one year low of $8.80 and a one year high of $15.31.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $138.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $133.67 million. Harmonic had a return on equity of 0.27% and a net margin of 10.22%. Harmonic’s quarterly revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Harmonic will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Harmonic

In related news, SVP Neven Haltmayer sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.41, for a total value of $576,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,761,060.51. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Harmonic

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLIT. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Harmonic in the 2nd quarter worth $7,687,000. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Harmonic during the second quarter valued at about $289,000. Clearline Capital LP increased its position in shares of Harmonic by 777.6% during the second quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 1,570,461 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,484,000 after buying an additional 1,391,504 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its stake in Harmonic by 54.9% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 120,539 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,419,000 after buying an additional 42,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Harmonic by 7.2% in the second quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 20,192 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 1,362 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on HLIT. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Harmonic in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Harmonic currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $18.50.

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.