Clearfield's (CLFD) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $50.00 price objective on the communications equipment provider's stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price indicates a potential upside of 32.07% from the company's current price.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Clearfield from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.75.

Clearfield Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of CLFD traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $37.86. 103,773 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 99,457. The company has a market cap of $541.02 million, a PE ratio of -44.54 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's 50 day moving average is $31.82 and its 200-day moving average is $36.01. Clearfield has a 52 week low of $24.78 and a 52 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.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $46.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.95 million. Clearfield had a negative return on equity of 4.41% and a negative net margin of 7.47%. The firm's revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Clearfield will post -0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Clearfield

In other news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth acquired 5,000 shares of Clearfield stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $31.00 per share, for a total transaction of $155,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,266,796 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. 16.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Clearfield

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CLFD. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Clearfield by 34.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,810 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 3,764 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Clearfield by 83.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 228,173 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $8,798,000 after acquiring an additional 103,648 shares during the period. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Clearfield in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,801,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Clearfield in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $85,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clearfield in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $217,000. Institutional investors 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.