Daniel T. Whalen Acquires 3,000 Shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Stock

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Director Daniel T. Whalen bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,726. The trade was a 51.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Harmonic Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Harmonic stock opened at $10.15 on Thursday. Harmonic Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.42 and a 1 year high of $15.46. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.90 and a 200 day moving average of $12.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HLIT. Northland Securities cut their price objective on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Harmonic in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

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