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 brokerage currently has a $50.00 price objective on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

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

Clearfield Stock Performance

Shares of CLFD opened at $39.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 8.38 and a quick ratio of 5.73. Clearfield has a one year low of $22.91 and a one year high of $44.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.03. The company has a market capitalization of $561.63 million, a PE ratio of -157.84 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Clearfield

In other Clearfield news, Director Walter Louis Jones, Jr. acquired 1,324 shares of Clearfield stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $37.77 per share, with a total value of $50,007.48. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $228,923.97. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 16.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearfield

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bard Associates Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Clearfield by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 15,503 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Clearfield by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,536 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Clearfield by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 33,941 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Clearfield in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. 88.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Clearfield

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.