Rhumbline Advisers Lowers Holdings in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its stake in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 311,951 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,250 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.27% of Harmonic worth $4,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 201,386 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 57,888 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Harmonic in the 3rd quarter worth about $833,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Harmonic in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,915,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,675,268 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $38,986,000 after purchasing an additional 17,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bouvel Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Harmonic in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,756,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HLIT shares. StockNews.com raised Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Northland Securities reduced their price objective on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.50.

Harmonic Trading Up 0.7 %

Harmonic stock opened at $10.31 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.84. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24 and a beta of 0.89. Harmonic Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.42 and a 52-week high of $15.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 5.78%. Analysts predict that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Harmonic

In related news, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan acquired 7,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.65 per share, for a total transaction of $75,077.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 347,797 shares in the company, valued at $3,356,241.05. The trade was a 2.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic acquired 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $435,457.76. This trade represents a 35.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 in the last three months. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.