Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Clearfield in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Clearfield presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.75.

Clearfield Stock Performance

Shares of CLFD stock opened at $34.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $492.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.58 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 9.43, a quick ratio of 6.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.08. Clearfield has a 12 month low of $24.78 and a 12 month high of $44.83.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $31.00 per share, for a total transaction of $155,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,266,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,270,676. The trade was a 0.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 16.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearfield

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CLFD. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Clearfield in the third quarter valued at $53,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clearfield in the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Clearfield in the 3rd quarter valued at about $80,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Clearfield during the 2nd quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Clearfield by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,641 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.73% of the company’s stock.

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.