Squarepoint Ops LLC Grows Stock Position in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) by 30.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 585,340 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 135,878 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.50% of Harmonic worth $7,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in Harmonic by 414.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 201,976 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,944,000 after buying an additional 162,727 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Harmonic by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 30,154 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,888 shares during the period. Yorktown Management & Research Co Inc purchased a new position in Harmonic in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $344,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Harmonic in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $146,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLIT has been the topic of several research reports. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on Harmonic from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Harmonic in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Harmonic in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Harmonic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Harmonic presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.33.

Harmonic Price Performance

Harmonic stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.14. 524,151 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,151,767. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $9.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.95. Harmonic Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.91 and a 1 year high of $15.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.70 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.18.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $133.14 million during 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Harmonic declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the communications equipment provider to buy up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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.