Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

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

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on HLIT. 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. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Harmonic in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective 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, Barclays decreased their target price on Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.50.

Harmonic Stock Performance

Shares of HLIT stock opened at $10.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 31.49 and a beta of 0.87. Harmonic has a 52-week low of $8.42 and a 52-week high of $15.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.49. 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 announced 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Harmonic will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Harmonic announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program 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 programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Harmonic

In related news, CFO Walter Jankovic acquired 12,000 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $435,457.76. This represents a 35.16 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Krall acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $97,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 163,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,598,932.20. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 32,780 shares of company stock valued at $316,607. 2.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Harmonic by 40.3% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 201,386 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 57,888 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $38,986,000 after buying an additional 17,665 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Harmonic by 85.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,208,829 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,613,000 after buying an additional 555,737 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Harmonic by 6.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 39,041 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 2,207 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Harmonic by 18.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 246,944 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,598,000 after acquiring an additional 38,137 shares during the last quarter. 99.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.