Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on CLFD. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Clearfield in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Lake Street Capital decreased their target price on Clearfield from $52.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Clearfield from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Northland Securities raised Clearfield from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Clearfield in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Clearfield Stock Performance

CLFD opened at $29.38 on Friday. Clearfield has a 1 year low of $23.78 and a 1 year high of $46.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.61. The company has a market cap of $405.62 million, a PE ratio of 2,938.00 and a beta of 1.81.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 25th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.04. Clearfield had a net margin of 0.11% and a return on equity of 0.07%. The company had revenue of $17.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.55 million. Clearfield has set its Q1 2026 guidance at -0.080-0.000 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 0.480-0.620 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Clearfield will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Clearfield announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 25th that allows the company to buyback $85.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the communications equipment provider to purchase up to 22% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its position in shares of Clearfield by 770.2% in the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 176,304 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,240,000 after purchasing an additional 156,044 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Clearfield by 2,046.4% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 17,579 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $763,000 after buying an additional 16,760 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Clearfield by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 952,059 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $28,295,000 after buying an additional 7,919 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Clearfield by 2,710.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,855 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in Clearfield during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,009,000. Hedge funds and other 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.