Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Shares Down 5.7% – Time to Sell?

Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) fell 5.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $35.04 and last traded at $35.63. 203,796 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 92% from the average session volume of 105,943 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLFD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clearfield from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Clearfield in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clearfield presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.75.

Clearfield Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $515.60 million, a P/E ratio of -42.93 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.08. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $46.80 million for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Clearfield, Inc. will post -0.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clearfield

In other Clearfield news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $31.00 per share, with a total value of $155,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,266,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,270,676. The trade was a 0.40 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clearfield

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 83.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 228,173 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $8,798,000 after buying an additional 103,648 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clearfield during the 2nd quarter valued at $217,000. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Clearfield by 2.5% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 98,088 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,782,000 after acquiring an additional 2,426 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Clearfield by 8.3% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,641 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Clearfield in the third quarter valued at $300,000. Institutional investors own 88.73% of the company’s stock.

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.