Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $8.15 and last traded at $8.30, with a volume of 363179 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Northland Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.50.

Harmonic Trading Down 5.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $975.05 million, a P/E ratio of 25.24 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.14.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Equities research analysts forecast that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Harmonic declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the communications equipment provider to repurchase up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Harmonic

In other Harmonic news, Director Daniel T. Whalen acquired 3,000 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.15 per share, for a total transaction of $30,450.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,726. This trade represents a 51.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic bought 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.44 per share, with a total value of $113,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,457.76. The trade was a 35.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 32,780 shares of company stock valued at $316,607. 2.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Harmonic

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Harmonic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Harmonic by 5,388.1% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,543 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 5,442 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Harmonic by 14,765.9% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 6,054 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Harmonic in the fourth quarter valued at $133,000. Institutional investors own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

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.