AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd Purchases New Position in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 299,102 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,957,000. Harmonic makes up approximately 1.0% of AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd owned approximately 0.26% of Harmonic at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Harmonic during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Harmonic by 5,388.1% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,543 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 5,442 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 14,765.9% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 6,054 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Harmonic by 84.8% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Harmonic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $137,000. 99.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Harmonic Stock Down 0.4 %

Harmonic stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $8.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 648,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,096. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.91 and a beta of 1.03. Harmonic Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.91 and a 52-week high of $15.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The firm's 50 day moving average is $9.50 and its 200 day moving average is $11.30.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $133.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $127.51 million. Harmonic had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Harmonic's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Harmonic declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the communications equipment provider to repurchase up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Harmonic

In related news, CFO Walter Jankovic bought 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 represents a 35.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel T. Whalen bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.15 per share, with a total value of $30,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,726. This trade represents a 51.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 32,780 shares of company stock valued at $316,607. Insiders own 2.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Harmonic in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Harmonic from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Harmonic in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Harmonic currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.33.

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.