Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 5,654,063 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 183% from the previous session’s volume of 1,994,623 shares.The stock last traded at $9.31 and had previously closed at $9.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Harmonic from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Harmonic from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Harmonic from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Harmonic currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.20.

Harmonic Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.34 and its 200-day moving average is $11.74.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $167.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $158.98 million. Harmonic had a net margin of 13.82% and a return on equity of 4.71%. Harmonic’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Harmonic news, SVP Neven Haltmayer sold 14,747 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.68, for a total transaction of $201,738.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 156,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,141,727.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Nimrod Ben-Natan sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.91, for a total value of $1,291,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 302,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,901,582.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Neven Haltmayer sold 14,747 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.68, for a total transaction of $201,738.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 156,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,141,727.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 150,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,917,122 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmonic

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HLIT. Trigran Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Harmonic by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. now owns 9,636,809 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $92,802,000 after purchasing an additional 2,677,338 shares in the last quarter. Scopia Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Harmonic by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Scopia Capital Management LP now owns 5,649,163 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $54,401,000 after purchasing an additional 2,484,825 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Harmonic during the 4th quarter valued at $19,257,000. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Harmonic during the 4th quarter valued at $16,879,000. Finally, Toronado Partners LLC grew its holdings in Harmonic by 149.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toronado Partners LLC now owns 2,011,532 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205,380 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

Harmonic Company Profile

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.