Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,790,000 shares, an increase of 19.7% from the March 15th total of 2,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HLIT shares. StockNews.com upgraded Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Northland Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan purchased 7,780 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.65 per share, with a total value of $75,077.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,797 shares in the company, valued at $3,356,241.05. This trade represents a 2.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic bought 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,457.76. This trade represents a 35.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Harmonic during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Harmonic by 5,388.1% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,543 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 5,442 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 14,765.9% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 6,054 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Harmonic by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,295 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Harmonic during the 4th quarter valued at about $133,000. 99.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Harmonic Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ HLIT opened at $8.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 26.97 and a beta of 0.92. Harmonic has a 1-year low of $7.91 and a 1-year high of $15.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.78 and a 200-day moving average of $11.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Harmonic will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Harmonic announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.