Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Price Target Cut to $12.50 by Analysts at Northland Securities

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) had its target price reduced by Northland Securities from $14.00 to $12.50 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Harmonic in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded 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 research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays downgraded Harmonic from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Harmonic in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Harmonic from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.50.

Harmonic Price Performance

Shares of Harmonic stock opened at $9.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $12.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.09. Harmonic has a one year low of $8.42 and a one year high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a return on equity of 7.56% and a net margin of 13.62%. Equities analysts expect that Harmonic will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Krall acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $97,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 163,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,598,932.20. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan acquired 7,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.65 per share, with a total value of $75,077.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,797 shares in the company, valued at $3,356,241.05. The trade was a 2.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 29,780 shares of company stock worth $286,157. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Harmonic by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 201,386 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 57,888 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Harmonic during the 3rd quarter valued at about $833,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new position in Harmonic during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,915,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Harmonic by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,675,268 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $38,986,000 after buying an additional 17,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bouvel Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Harmonic during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,756,000. 99.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.