Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) Short Interest Update

Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,420,000 shares, a drop of 7.8% from the September 15th total of 1,540,000 shares. Currently, 12.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 105,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 13.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CLFD shares. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on shares of Clearfield from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Northland Securities lifted their target price on Clearfield from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Lake Street Capital raised Clearfield from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Clearfield from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Clearfield in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Walter Louis Jones, Jr. bought 1,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $37.77 per share, with a total value of $50,007.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $228,923.97. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 16.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Clearfield

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the second quarter worth $75,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Clearfield in the 2nd quarter worth about $85,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the 2nd quarter worth about $130,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the 2nd quarter valued at about $217,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Clearfield by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,536 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. 88.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clearfield Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CLFD opened at $38.20 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $37.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.86. The company has a market cap of $543.70 million, a P/E ratio of -152.80 and a beta of 1.34. Clearfield has a 12-month low of $22.91 and a 12-month high of $44.83. The company has a quick ratio of 5.73, a current ratio of 8.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by $0.30. Clearfield had a negative return on equity of 3.06% and a negative net margin of 5.26%. The firm had revenue of $48.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. Clearfield’s quarterly revenue was down 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Clearfield will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.