Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) by 31.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 75,692 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,913 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Harmonic were worth $1,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Harmonic by 18.1% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,365 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,414 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Harmonic in the third quarter worth about $833,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new stake in Harmonic in the third quarter worth about $2,915,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Harmonic in the third quarter worth about $227,000. Finally, Bouvel Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Harmonic in the third quarter worth about $1,756,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

Harmonic Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:HLIT opened at $10.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.82. Harmonic Inc. 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.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity at Harmonic

In related news, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan acquired 7,780 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.65 per share, for a total transaction 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 approximately $3,356,241.05. This trade represents a 2.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Krall acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $97,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 163,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,598,932.20. This trade represents a 6.52 % 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 quarter. Company insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HLIT. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective 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. Northland Securities cut their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.50.

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.