Analysts Set Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) PT at $12.50

Shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HLIT shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

Harmonic Price Performance

Harmonic stock opened at $10.15 on Friday. Harmonic has a 52-week low of $8.42 and a 52-week high of $15.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $11.90 and its 200 day moving average is $12.86. The company has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76 and a beta of 0.89.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Harmonic will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows 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.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Walter Jankovic bought 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,457.76. The trade was a 35.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Krall purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.78 per share, with a total value of $97,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 163,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,598,932.20. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 32,780 shares of company stock valued at $316,607. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HLIT. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Harmonic by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 36,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Harmonic by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 203,300 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,690,000 after buying an additional 1,324 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 14.9% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,671 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Harmonic by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 30,154 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Harmonic by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 62,811 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $831,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146 shares in the last quarter. 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.