Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Hits New 12-Month High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) reached a new 52-week high on Monday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $15.46 and last traded at $15.30, with a volume of 197430 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.78.

The communications equipment provider reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $195.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.77 million. Harmonic had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 0.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.05) EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on HLIT. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on Harmonic from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James lowered shares of Harmonic from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $12.50 in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmonic

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLIT. Clearline Capital LP raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 777.6% in the second quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 1,570,461 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,504 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Harmonic by 1,276.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,203,297 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $16,172,000 after buying an additional 1,115,870 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Harmonic by 1,952.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 978,127 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,513,000 after acquiring an additional 930,469 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Harmonic during the second quarter worth approximately $7,687,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 117.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,187,528 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $17,302,000 after acquiring an additional 642,033 shares during the period. 99.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Harmonic Stock Down 25.1 %

The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.57.

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.