Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Director Daniel T. Whalen Acquires 3,000 Shares

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Director Daniel T. Whalen bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.15 per share, for a total transaction of $30,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Harmonic Price Performance

NASDAQ HLIT opened at $10.05 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.90. Harmonic Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.42 and a 52-week 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 net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Equities research analysts predict that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the communications equipment provider to purchase up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLIT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Harmonic in a research note on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Raymond James downgraded shares of Harmonic from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of 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 cut their target price on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.50.

Institutional Trading of Harmonic

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Harmonic by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,365 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,414 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Harmonic in the third quarter worth approximately $833,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Harmonic in the third quarter worth approximately $842,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new position in Harmonic during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,915,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Harmonic in the third quarter valued at approximately $227,000. 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.