Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD)

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $50.00 price target on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 63.77% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Clearfield from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.75.

Clearfield Trading Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ CLFD opened at $30.53 on Wednesday. Clearfield has a 52 week low of $26.94 and a 52 week high of $44.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.14. The company has a quick ratio of 7.41, a current ratio of 10.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $431.45 million, a PE ratio of -48.46 and a beta of 1.26.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. Clearfield had a negative net margin of 5.41% and a negative return on equity of 3.31%. As a group, research analysts expect that Clearfield will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clearfield

In other Clearfield news, COO John P. Hill sold 16,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.26, for a total value of $550,087.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 189,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,608.36. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 17.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearfield

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Clearfield by 164.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,971 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,428,000 after purchasing an additional 54,670 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the fourth quarter worth about $1,594,000. Drum Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the fourth quarter worth about $1,539,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 322,378 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $9,994,000 after buying an additional 48,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Clearfield in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,311,000. 88.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.