Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Sets New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on the stock from $16.00 to $12.00. Rosenblatt Securities currently has a buy rating on the stock. Harmonic traded as low as $8.42 and last traded at $9.92, with a volume of 2140998 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.12.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays cut their price target on Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $14.00 to $12.50 in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Harmonic from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HLIT. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 117.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,323 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 14,765.9% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 6,054 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Harmonic by 84.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,295 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 2,888 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 274.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,439 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 6,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of Harmonic in the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,000. 99.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Harmonic Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.11.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 13.62% and a return on equity of 7.56%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

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

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.