Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Director Purchases $30,450.00 in Stock

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Director Daniel T. Whalen bought 3,000 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.15 per share, with a total value of $30,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,726. This represents a 51.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Harmonic Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HLIT opened at $10.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.88. Harmonic Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.42 and a 1-year high of $15.46. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.55 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

Harmonic announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the communications equipment provider to reacquire up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Harmonic in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 5,388.1% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,543 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 5,442 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 14,765.9% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 6,054 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,295 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 2,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Harmonic in the fourth quarter worth $133,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HLIT. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Northland Securities reduced their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.50.

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.