Walter Jankovic Purchases 12,000 Shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Stock

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) CFO Walter Jankovic purchased 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.44 per share, with a total value of $113,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,457.76. This trade represents a 35.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Harmonic Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of HLIT opened at $10.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 0.89. Harmonic Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.42 and a 1 year high of $15.46. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.05.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 7.56%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the communications equipment provider to reacquire up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Northland Securities dropped their price objective on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their price target on Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $12.50 in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmonic

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HLIT. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Harmonic by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,788,714 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $103,045,000 after buying an additional 1,300,128 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 117.7% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Harmonic by 85.1% during 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 during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its holdings in Harmonic by 198.2% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 797,176 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,547,000 after purchasing an additional 529,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Harmonic by 175.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 681,425 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,015,000 after purchasing an additional 434,481 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.