Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Downgraded by StockNews.com

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Lake Street Capital upgraded shares of Clearfield from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $31.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Roth Mkm decreased their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Clearfield in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Northland Securities boosted their price target on shares of Clearfield from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.75.

Clearfield Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CLFD opened at $36.33 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.81 and a 200-day moving average of $37.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $517.08 million, a P/E ratio of -145.32 and a beta of 1.34. 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 has a twelve month low of $22.91 and a twelve month high of $44.83.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $48.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.13 million. Clearfield had a negative net margin of 5.26% and a negative return on equity of 3.06%. Clearfield’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Clearfield will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Clearfield

In other news, Director Walter Louis Jones, Jr. bought 1,324 shares of Clearfield stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $37.77 per share, for a total transaction of $50,007.48. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,061 shares in the company, valued at $228,923.97. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 16.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearfield

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CLFD. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Clearfield in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,801,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 83.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 228,173 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $8,798,000 after buying an additional 103,648 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 172.9% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 113,904 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,531,000 after buying an additional 72,164 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clearfield in the 2nd quarter worth about $835,000. Finally, Teton Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Clearfield in the 1st quarter worth about $555,000. 88.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.