Zacks Research Upgrades Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) to Strong-Buy

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Harmonic from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Northland Securities set a $15.00 price objective on Harmonic in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Harmonic from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.60.

Harmonic Trading Up 0.3%

Harmonic stock opened at $14.90 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.15. Harmonic has a 12 month low of $7.80 and a 12 month high of $17.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.27 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Neven Haltmayer sold 31,766 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.24, for a total transaction of $420,581.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 133,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,773,153.76. This represents a 19.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephanie Copeland sold 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.30, for a total value of $57,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $276,001.60. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Harmonic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Harmonic during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Harmonic by 23,193.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 7,221 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 7,190 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Harmonic by 130.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,476 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 4,236 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Harmonic during the first quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 64.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,645 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. 99.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Harmonic Company Profile

Harmonic Inc (NASDAQ:HLIT) is a leading provider of video delivery infrastructure that enables service providers, broadcasters and content owners to capture, process and distribute high?quality video across broadcast, cable, satellite and IP networks. The company’s portfolio spans real?time video compression solutions, including encoders and transcoders, as well as storage and server products designed for live production, playout and streaming on any device.

Harmonic’s product lines include cable edge QAM modules and set?top video processing platforms for traditional pay?TV operators, alongside cloud?native software for over?the?top (OTT) delivery, origin servers and content delivery network (CDN) services.