Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Shares Down 5.7% – Time to Sell?

Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) was down 5.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $35.04 and last traded at $35.63. Approximately 203,796 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 92% from the average daily volume of 105,943 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CLFD. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Clearfield in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Clearfield from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Clearfield has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.75.

Clearfield Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 6.69, a current ratio of 9.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $490.88 million, a P/E ratio of -40.87 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.39 and its 200-day moving average is $36.11.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $46.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.95 million. Clearfield had a negative return on equity of 4.41% and a negative net margin of 7.47%. The business’s revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Clearfield, Inc. will post -0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Clearfield

In related news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth purchased 5,000 shares of Clearfield stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $31.00 per share, for a total transaction of $155,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,266,796 shares in the company, valued at $39,270,676. This trade represents a 0.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 17.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Clearfield by 8.3% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,641 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Clearfield by 0.5% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 98,599 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,841,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Bard Associates Inc. raised its stake in Clearfield by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bard Associates Inc. now owns 12,220 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 2.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 30,062 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,171,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Clearfield during the third quarter valued at $53,000. 88.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.