Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Price Target Increased to $50.00 by Analysts at Needham & Company LLC

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) had its price objective hoisted by Needham & Company LLC from $42.00 to $50.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on CLFD. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on Clearfield from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Clearfield to a sell rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Clearfield from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, 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 report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Clearfield currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $46.75.

Clearfield Stock Performance

Clearfield stock traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $38.30. 142,300 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 181,743. Clearfield has a 52 week low of $22.91 and a 52 week high of $44.83. The firm has a market cap of $545.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -153.20 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.64.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by $0.30. Clearfield had a negative return on equity of 3.00% and a negative net margin of 5.26%. The business had revenue of $48.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. Clearfield’s quarterly revenue was down 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Clearfield will post -1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Clearfield news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $36.40 per share, for a total transaction of $72,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,261,796 shares in the company, valued at $45,929,374.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 16.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLFD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Clearfield by 0.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,160,764 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,267,000 after purchasing an additional 10,370 shares in the last quarter. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the fourth quarter worth $5,148,000. Shaker Investments LLC OH bought a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the fourth quarter worth $738,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Clearfield by 1,247.7% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 210,717 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $6,128,000 after buying an additional 195,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Clearfield by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,936 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. 88.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.