Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Clearfield in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clearfield presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.75.

Clearfield Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CLFD opened at $34.49 on Friday. Clearfield has a fifty-two week low of $24.78 and a fifty-two week high of $44.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 6.69 and a current ratio of 9.43. The company has a market cap of $492.83 million, a PE ratio of -40.58 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.06.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $46.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.95 million. Clearfield had a negative net margin of 7.47% and a negative return on equity of 4.41%. Clearfield’s revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Clearfield will post -0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clearfield

In related news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth acquired 5,000 shares of Clearfield stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $31.00 per share, for a total transaction of $155,000.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 1,266,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,270,676. This represents a 0.40 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 16.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Clearfield

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CLFD. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Clearfield in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clearfield during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clearfield in the third quarter worth about $80,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Clearfield during the second quarter worth approximately $85,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Clearfield by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,641 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. 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.