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

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Clearfield (CLFD - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $50.30, moving +0.2% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.68%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.06%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.7%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of fiber optic management products had lost 18.95% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 4.48% and the S&P 500's loss of 6.68% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Clearfield as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, Clearfield is projected to report earnings of $0.60 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 9.09%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $71.15 million, up 32.99% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $4.39 per share and revenue of $381.7 million. These totals would mark changes of +23.66% and +40.91%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Clearfield should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Clearfield is holding a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now.

Investors should also note Clearfield's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 11.44. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 11.74.

The Wireless Equipment industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 94, which puts it in the top 38% 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.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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