Graham Capital Management L.P. Acquires 26,411 Shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) by 48.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,289 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,411 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned approximately 0.07% of Harmonic worth $1,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Harmonic during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in 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 valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 5,442 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Harmonic by 14,765.9% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 6,054 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake 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 valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Harmonic in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $133,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on HLIT. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Harmonic in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on Harmonic from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Northland Securities cut their price target on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Harmonic has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.33.

Harmonic Stock Down 0.6%

HLIT stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.54. 768,742 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,160,422. The firm's 50-day moving average is $9.34 and its 200-day moving average is $11.06. The company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.91 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Harmonic Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.91 and a 12 month high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $133.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Harmonic declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the communications equipment provider to buy up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel T. Whalen acquired 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.15 per share, for a total transaction of $30,450.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,726. The trade was a 51.37% 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 link. 1.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.