Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Shares Sold by Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. reduced its holdings in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) by 86.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,371 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 997,191 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. owned about 0.13% of Harmonic worth $2,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Harmonic by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,063,328 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $146,368,000 after acquiring an additional 235,188 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Harmonic by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,788,714 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $103,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300,128 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 9,004.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,719,837 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $62,443,000 after purchasing an additional 4,667,996 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Harmonic by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,145,357 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $28,383,000 after buying an additional 175,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP lifted its stake in Harmonic by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 1,335,941 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $17,674,000 after buying an additional 57,046 shares in the last quarter. 99.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HLIT shares. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on Harmonic from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Harmonic in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Harmonic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Northland Securities cut their target price on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $12.33.

Harmonic Price Performance

Shares of HLIT stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.02. The stock had a trading volume of 654,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,172,787. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Harmonic Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.91 and a 12-month high of $15.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.90.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Harmonic had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 5.78%. The business had revenue of $133.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.51 million. The company's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Harmonic announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the communications equipment provider to purchase up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Harmonic 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.