Silverback Asset Management LLC Sells 20,379 Shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

Silverback Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 691,644 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 20,379 shares during the period. Silverback Asset Management LLC owned 0.59% of Harmonic worth $9,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Philadelphia Trust Co. increased its position in Harmonic by 49.1% in the 4th quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co. now owns 624,390 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $8,261,000 after buying an additional 205,585 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP increased its position 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 worth $17,674,000 after buying an additional 57,046 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Harmonic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,292,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Harmonic by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,788,714 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $103,045,000 after buying an additional 1,300,128 shares during the period. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new position in Harmonic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $260,000. 99.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Harmonic Stock Performance

HLIT opened at $8.94 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09 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 1 year low of $7.91 and a 1 year high of $15.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.97.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.11 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $133.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $127.51 million. Harmonic’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on HLIT shares. Northland Securities dropped their price target on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Harmonic in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Harmonic in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on Harmonic from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Harmonic in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.