Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 target price on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 31.34% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on CLFD. Northland Securities increased their target price on Clearfield from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Clearfield to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Lake Street Capital upgraded Clearfield from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Clearfield from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.75.

Clearfield Stock Performance

Clearfield stock opened at $38.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $542.12 million, a P/E ratio of -152.28 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 8.38, a quick ratio of 5.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $38.94 and a 200-day moving average of $36.04. Clearfield has a 52 week low of $22.91 and a 52 week high of $44.83.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.04) EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $42.13 million. Clearfield had a negative return on equity of 3.06% and a negative net margin of 5.26%. The business’s revenue was down 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Clearfield will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Walter Louis Jones, Jr. acquired 1,324 shares of Clearfield stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $37.77 per share, for a total transaction of $50,007.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,923.97. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 16.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clearfield

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Clearfield in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Clearfield in the second quarter worth $75,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Clearfield by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 860 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Clearfield in the second quarter worth $85,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Clearfield in the second quarter worth $130,000. 88.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.