Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Research Coverage Started at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) in a report published on Friday. The firm issued a hold rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

HLIT has been the topic of several other reports. Northland Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective 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. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Harmonic from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.50.

Harmonic Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HLIT opened at $10.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $12.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.93. Harmonic has a 1-year low of $8.42 and a 1-year high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Analysts forecast that Harmonic will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Activity at Harmonic

In other Harmonic news, Director David Krall bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $97,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 163,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,932.20. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan acquired 7,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.65 per share, with a total value of $75,077.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 347,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,356,241.05. The trade was a 2.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 29,780 shares of company stock worth $286,157 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmonic

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Harmonic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $138,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Harmonic by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 322,262 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,264,000 after purchasing an additional 50,342 shares during the period. Wolverine Trading LLC purchased a new position in shares of Harmonic in the fourth quarter valued at $312,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Harmonic by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 585,340 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,744,000 after purchasing an additional 135,878 shares during the period. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Harmonic in the fourth quarter valued at $312,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

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.