Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $31.91, but opened at $39.90. Clearfield shares last traded at $36.87, with a volume of 284,385 shares changing hands.

The communications equipment provider reported ($0.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.13. Clearfield had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 4.22%. The company had revenue of $36.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. Clearfield’s quarterly revenue was down 43.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Clearfield from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Clearfield from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $25.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Clearfield in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Clearfield news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.62 per share, with a total value of $59,240.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 1,259,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,315,157.52. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 16.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Clearfield

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Clearfield by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 14,745 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,712 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Bard Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bard Associates Inc. now owns 11,684 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,936 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 134.4% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,130 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. 88.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clearfield Stock Up 13.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $531.36 million, a P/E ratio of 44.06 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.09.

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.