Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Director David Krall Purchases 10,000 Shares

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Director David Krall purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $97,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 163,490 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,932.20. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Harmonic Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HLIT opened at $10.06 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $12.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.05. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 0.89. Harmonic Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.42 and a 12-month high of $15.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share 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 Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the communications equipment provider to repurchase up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Harmonic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Harmonic by 117.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings 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 worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 5,442 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Harmonic by 14,765.9% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 6,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Harmonic by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,295 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares in the last quarter. 99.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HLIT shares. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased 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. StockNews.com upgraded Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $14.00 to $12.50 in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Harmonic currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.