Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Short Interest Down 19.6% in May

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,260,000 shares, a decline of 19.6% from the April 30th total of 2,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company's stock are short sold.

Harmonic Stock Performance

HLIT traded up $0.41 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.46. 859,578 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,144,509. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.84. Harmonic has a fifty-two week low of $7.91 and a fifty-two week high of $15.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67 and a beta of 1.03.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 5.78%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Harmonic will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the communications equipment provider to purchase up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP bought a new position in Harmonic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position 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 during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 6,054 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Harmonic by 84.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,295 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 2,888 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Harmonic by 132.6% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,119 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 4,058 shares during the last quarter. 99.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HLIT. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on Harmonic from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Harmonic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. 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 note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Harmonic in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.33.

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.