Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $50.00 price target on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Clearfield to a sell rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on shares of Clearfield from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Lake Street Capital raised shares of Clearfield from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $47.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Northland Securities upped their price objective on shares of Clearfield from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $46.75.

Clearfield Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CLFD opened at $38.89 on Tuesday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $38.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $553.52 million, a PE ratio of -156.56 and a beta of 1.34. Clearfield has a fifty-two week low of $22.91 and a fifty-two week high of $44.83.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Clearfield will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Clearfield

In related news, Director Walter Louis Jones, Jr. bought 1,324 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $228,923.97. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 16.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bard Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Clearfield by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Bard Associates Inc. now owns 11,684 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Clearfield by 2.7% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 15,503 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Clearfield by 7.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,536 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Clearfield by 2.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 33,941 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Clearfield in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hedge funds and other 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.