Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $302,000 Stake in Harmonic Inc. $HLIT

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) by 93.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,598 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 494,570 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Harmonic were worth $302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Harmonic by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,022,963 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $118,907,000 after buying an additional 148,281 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Harmonic by 120.7% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,052,927 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,455,000 after buying an additional 575,800 shares during the period. Econ Financial Services Corp purchased a new stake in Harmonic in the 1st quarter worth about $885,000. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in Harmonic by 799.2% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 114,200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,129,000 after acquiring an additional 101,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Harmonic by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 701,151 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $6,296,000 after acquiring an additional 165,794 shares during the period. 99.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Harmonic Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Harmonic stock opened at $11.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.00 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 2.03. Harmonic Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.47 and a 52-week high of $17.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on HLIT. Northland Securities set a $15.00 target price on Harmonic in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. 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. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Harmonic in a report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Harmonic from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Harmonic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.60.

Insider Activity at Harmonic

In related news, Director Stephanie Copeland sold 4,300 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $57,190.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $276,001.60. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Neven Haltmayer sold 31,766 shares of Harmonic 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 133,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,773,153.76. This trade represents a 19.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.