Barclays Boosts Estimates on Harmonic

LONDON: Barclays Capital equity research division lifted its earnings estimates for Harmonic, the Sunnyvale, Calif., video compressor. Barclays elevated Harmonic’s (NASDAQ:HLIT) target price as well, from $5 to $7, on anticipated market stability, according to SmartTrend. The stock was trading today mid-day at around $6.20 a share.

Barclays based its market analysis on loosening domestic capital expenditures. The investment bank also expects Harmonic to start upgrading its products during the second half of this year. It raised its full-year 2009 sales estimate to $313 million, or 30 cents a share; and for 2010, $344 million, or 33 cents a share. Harmonic ended fiscal 2008 with net income of $64 million on revenues of $365 million.

Harmonic closed a $50 million acquisition of Scopus earlier this year, and said it expected to realize savings of $8 million to $10 million a year once operations were fully integrated. -- Deborah D. McAdams