Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Receives $12.50 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.50.

HLIT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC decreased 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Krall acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $97,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 163,490 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,932.20. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel T. Whalen acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.15 per share, for a total transaction of $30,450.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 8,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,726. This represents a 51.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 over the last 90 days. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Harmonic by 40.3% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 201,386 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,934,000 after buying an additional 57,888 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Harmonic by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,675,268 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $38,986,000 after purchasing an additional 17,665 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Harmonic by 113.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 71,976 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 38,230 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Harmonic by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,208,829 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $17,613,000 after purchasing an additional 555,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Harmonic by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 39,041 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,207 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

Harmonic Stock Performance

HLIT stock opened at $10.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.41. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.88 and a beta of 0.87. Harmonic has a 1-year low of $8.42 and a 1-year high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Harmonic will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.