Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) Short Interest Up 9.4% in April

Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,320,000 shares, an increase of 9.4% from the March 31st total of 2,120,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 206,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 11.2 days. Approximately 18.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CLFD shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Clearfield in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on shares of Clearfield from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clearfield presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.20.

Insider Activity

In other Clearfield news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.62 per share, with a total value of $59,240.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 1,259,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,315,157.52. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 16.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Clearfield

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Clearfield by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 14,745 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Clearfield by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,712 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Bard Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Clearfield by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bard Associates Inc. now owns 11,684 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Clearfield by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,936 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Clearfield by 134.4% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,130 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the period. 88.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clearfield Price Performance

CLFD stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.02. The stock had a trading volume of 58,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 198,452. The firm has a market cap of $441.59 million, a PE ratio of 36.46 and a beta of 1.32. Clearfield has a 12-month low of $22.91 and a 12-month high of $50.82. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.01.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.05. Clearfield had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 4.22%. The company had revenue of $34.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 60.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Clearfield will post -1.03 EPS for the current year.

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.