New York, May 23, 2026, 10:03 EDT
- Harmonic shares finished Friday at $15.20, climbing 19.7%. Weekly gain now sits at around 21%. Volume hit 12.8 million shares.
- Harmonic boosted its 2026 broadband revenue target to $475 million-$495 million after its first-quarter report.
- Nasdaq will be shut Monday, May 25, for Memorial Day. U.S. markets are set to reopen Tuesday for the regular session.
Harmonic Inc. shares surged almost 20% Friday as investors bought back in following the company’s updated outlook and the announced sale of its Video business. The broadband-equipment stock goes into the long U.S. weekend with strong momentum.
The timing is notable since the next trading day for the stock comes after a three-day market pause, not just a weekend. Harmonic is now in the midst of a tighter story: unloading Video, holding onto Broadband, and showing that orders can be converted to revenue.
Harmonic was up 18.9% to $15.10 intraday Friday, Investing.com said, as the stock kept rallying on its Q1 beat, raised broadband outlook, and hopes for the Video sale to close in Q2. Rosenblatt, Needham, Jefferies and Northland all lifted their price targets on May 12, according to the report.
Markets got a lift from the broader tape, but that wasn’t enough to account for how far stocks rallied. U.S. stocks finished up Friday, with all the major indexes logging gains on the week. Markets will be closed Monday for Memorial Day.
Harmonic focuses on broadband access. The company sells gear and software to cable and telecom firms aiming to speed up internet on their networks. Broadband revenue grew 43% in the first quarter to $121.7 million. Backlog and deferred revenue, which includes signed orders and contracted amounts still to be recorded, jumped 87% to $582.1 million.
Harmonic CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan called it a “strong start to the year” after the company boosted its full-year broadband forecast. Ben-Natan pointed to “robust bookings and record backlog.” The company reported its cOS platform was now deployed by 150 customers and reaches 45.7 million cable modems. PR Newswire
Jefferies bumped its target on the stock to $15 from $10 after what analyst Blayne Curtis called a “strong Q1 print,” though he stayed at Hold, The Fly reported. TipRanks Northland’s Tim Savageaux also raised his target, this time to $15 from $14, holding to his Outperform rating and writing that “conservatism remains” in the 2026 outlook. TipRanks
Harmonic said on May 19 that DNA Finland, the country’s second-biggest mobile and fixed broadband provider, is rolling out Harmonic’s SeaStar optical node. DNA is using the device to bring multi-gigabit service to apartment buildings with lower population density. Markus Lehtiniemi, who leads DNA Finland’s access networks design team, said reaching those buildings used to be “cost-prohibitive.” The new customer news landed this week but not on Friday. PR Newswire
Harmonic goes up against CommScope and Vecima in cable broadband access. Last year, Light Reading reported that Mediacom’s pick of Harmonic for DOCSIS 4.0 gave Harmonic an edge in virtual cable-modem termination systems. DOCSIS 4.0 is the cable industry’s main upgrade for faster broadband over cable lines. But CableLabs has since said CommScope, Harmonic and Vecima all brought DOCSIS 4.0 core tech to an interoperability event, showing the rivals are still pushing ahead.
Harmonic flagged risks around its Video sale in its 10-Q, warning the agreement could be called off, pushed back or get pricier than first thought. The company said once the sale closes, future results will rely only on Broadband. Video brought in around 29% of total first-quarter revenue, the filing said.
Supply poses a risk for Harmonic. The company said it depends on single or few suppliers for some components. It flagged that AI-driven demand for chips and other parts could push up prices, make parts harder to get, or cause shipping delays. Harmonic added that tariffs could also hurt if it can’t make up for those costs.
Looking to the week ahead, the key is if Friday’s gain sticks when markets open back up Tuesday. The next trading session faces a stronger broadband order backlog, but with shares that have already adjusted quickly. The divestiture hasn’t closed yet, so the story for Harmonic isn’t finished until that happens.
