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

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $36.00 price target on the communications equipment provider's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 27.43% from the stock's current price.

Separately, Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Clearfield from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Clearfield presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.20.

Clearfield Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CLFD traded down $0.60 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.25. 241,218 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 208,908. Clearfield has a 1-year low of $22.91 and a 1-year high of $50.82. The firm has a market cap of $415.56 million, a P/E ratio of 34.45 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.89.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.05. Clearfield had a return on equity of 4.22% and a net margin of 6.00%. The firm had revenue of $34.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 60.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Clearfield will post -1.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Clearfield

In related news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth acquired 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $29.62 per share, with a total value of $59,240.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 1,259,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,315,157.52. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 16.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Clearfield by 54.4% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 690 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Clearfield in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Clearfield in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. State of Wyoming increased its position in Clearfield by 140.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 854 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 134.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,130 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. 88.73% of the stock is currently 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.