Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Clearfield in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clearfield has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.75.

Clearfield Stock Down 3.4 %

Clearfield stock opened at $32.98 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $466.01 million, a PE ratio of -52.35 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 6.69 and a current ratio of 9.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.28 and a 200 day moving average of $35.72. Clearfield has a one year low of $27.06 and a one year high of $44.83.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. Clearfield had a negative net margin of 5.41% and a negative return on equity of 3.29%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Clearfield will post -0.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth acquired 5,000 shares of Clearfield stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $31.00 per share, for a total transaction of $155,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,266,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,270,676. This represents a 0.40 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Clearfield

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the 4th quarter worth approximately $585,000. Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in Clearfield by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 9,547 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,997 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Clearfield by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 44,251 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 3,174 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Clearfield during the fourth quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Clearfield by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,514 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 2,344 shares in the last quarter. 88.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.