Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Wednesday.

CLFD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Lake Street Capital raised shares of Clearfield from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Clearfield in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Roth Mkm dropped their price target on Clearfield from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Northland Securities upped their price target on Clearfield from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.75.

Clearfield Price Performance

CLFD opened at $36.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 5.73 and a current ratio of 8.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $518.51 million, a PE ratio of -145.72 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.18. Clearfield has a 52-week low of $22.91 and a 52-week high of $44.83.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by $0.30. Clearfield had a negative net margin of 5.26% and a negative return on equity of 3.06%. The business had revenue of $48.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Clearfield will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Clearfield

In related news, Director Walter Louis Jones, Jr. acquired 1,324 shares of Clearfield stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $37.77 per share, with a total value of $50,007.48. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $228,923.97. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 16.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearfield

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Clearfield by 187.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,330 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 7,388 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Clearfield by 172.9% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 113,904 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,531,000 after purchasing an additional 72,164 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,998 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 4,371 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clearfield by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,012,432 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $31,223,000 after purchasing an additional 14,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teton Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Clearfield during the first quarter valued at $555,000. Institutional investors own 88.73% of the company’s stock.

Clearfield Company Profile

Clearfield, Inc manufactures and sells various fiber connectivity products in the United States and internationally. The company offers FieldSmart, a series of panels, cabinets, wall boxes, and other enclosures; WaveSmart, an optical components integrated for signal coupling, splitting, termination, multiplexing, demultiplexing, and attenuation for integration within its fiber management platform; and active cabinet products.