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Clearfield (CLFD) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Clearfield (CLFD - Free Report) closed at $69.16, marking a +0.23% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.25% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.08%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 7.26%.

Heading into today, shares of the maker of fiber optic management products had lost 26.69% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 12.65% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.73% in that time.

Clearfield will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be February 2, 2023. In that report, analysts expect Clearfield to post earnings of $0.97 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 29.33%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $85 million, up 66.31% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.57 per share and revenue of $383.45 million, which would represent changes of +28.73% and +41.56%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Clearfield. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 7.68% lower within the past month. Clearfield currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Clearfield has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.1 right now. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.61.

The Wireless Equipment industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 149, which puts it in the bottom 41% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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