Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

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

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

Clearfield Price Performance

Clearfield stock opened at $38.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $546.40 million, a PE ratio of -153.56 and a beta of 1.34. Clearfield has a 52 week low of $22.91 and a 52 week high of $44.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.04. The company has a quick ratio of 5.73, a current ratio of 8.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.04) EPS 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 analyst estimates of $42.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Clearfield will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clearfield

In related news, Director Walter Louis Jones, Jr. acquired 1,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $37.77 per share, for a total transaction of $50,007.48. Following the acquisition, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 16.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearfield

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CLFD. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 72,164 shares during the period. Harber Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Clearfield during the fourth quarter worth about $4,310,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 1.4% in the 1st 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 period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clearfield in the 2nd quarter valued at about $835,000. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the 4th quarter worth about $349,000. 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.