Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities cut 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. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James downgraded shares of Harmonic from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Northland Securities reduced their price target on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.50.

Harmonic Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ HLIT opened at $9.79 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.47 and its 200-day moving average is $13.09. Harmonic has a 1 year low of $8.42 and a 1 year high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 7.56%. Equities analysts expect that Harmonic will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Activity at Harmonic

In related news, Director David Krall acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $97,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 163,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,932.20. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic bought 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.44 per share, with a total value of $113,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now 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. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 29,780 shares of company stock worth $286,157. Insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Harmonic by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 36,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Harmonic by 117.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 203,300 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Harmonic by 14.9% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,671 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Harmonic by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 30,154 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

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.