Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

HLIT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Northland Securities cut their price objective on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.50.

Harmonic Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HLIT opened at $9.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $10.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.29. Harmonic has a fifty-two week low of $8.42 and a fifty-two week high of $15.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

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

Harmonic declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 reacquire up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Harmonic

In other Harmonic news, CFO Walter Jankovic acquired 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,457.76. This represents a 35.16 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel T. Whalen bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.15 per share, with a total value of $30,450.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,726. This trade represents a 51.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Harmonic in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Harmonic by 5,388.1% during the 4th 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 during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 84.8% in 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 period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Harmonic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $133,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

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.