Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $50.00 target price on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Clearfield from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.75.

Clearfield Stock Down 5.9 %

Clearfield stock opened at $34.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 9.43 and a quick ratio of 6.69. The company’s 50-day moving average is $34.07 and its 200-day moving average is $35.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $491.02 million, a PE ratio of -40.88 and a beta of 1.28. Clearfield has a fifty-two week low of $27.06 and a fifty-two week high of $44.83.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. Clearfield had a negative return on equity of 4.41% and a negative net margin of 7.47%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Clearfield will post -0.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Clearfield news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $31.00 per share, with a total value of $155,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,266,796 shares in the company, valued at $39,270,676. The trade was a 0.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 17.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Clearfield in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Clearfield in the 3rd quarter valued at $80,000. 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 acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the 2nd quarter worth $217,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Clearfield in the fourth quarter worth $233,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.