Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Northland Securities cut their price target on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.50.

Harmonic Stock Down 3.4 %

HLIT traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $9.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,351,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,412,554. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.18 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.69.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Harmonic will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the communications equipment provider to repurchase up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Harmonic

In other Harmonic news, Director David Krall purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.78 per share, with a total value of $97,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 163,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,932.20. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel T. Whalen purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.15 per share, for a total transaction of $30,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,726. This trade 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 three months. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Harmonic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 2.6% in the fourth 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 during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 203,300 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 30,154 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 62,811 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146 shares during the period. 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.