StockNews.com Downgrades Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) to Sell

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

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on CLFD. Lake Street Capital upgraded Clearfield from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Clearfield in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Clearfield from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Northland Securities increased their target price on shares of Clearfield from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.75.

Clearfield Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CLFD opened at $29.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $428.41 million, a P/E ratio of -35.27 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.40. Clearfield has a 52-week low of $24.78 and a 52-week high of $44.83. The company has a quick ratio of 6.69, a current ratio of 9.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.13. Clearfield had a negative return on equity of 4.41% and a negative net margin of 7.47%. The firm had revenue of $46.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Clearfield will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Clearfield by 164.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,971 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,428,000 after acquiring an additional 54,670 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 30,062 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Clearfield during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Clearfield during the third quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its position in Clearfield by 12.2% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 249,087 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $9,704,000 after buying an additional 27,178 shares during the last quarter. 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.