Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD – Get Free Report) and Allot (NASDAQ:ALLT – Get Free Report) are both small-cap technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation and earnings.
Risk and Volatility
Clearfield has a beta of 2.11, meaning that its stock price is 111% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Allot has a beta of 1.5, meaning that its stock price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Clearfield and Allot, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Clearfield | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2.57 |
| Allot | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2.50 |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Clearfield and Allot”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Clearfield | $153.66 million | 2.67 | -$8.05 million | ($0.51) | -59.14 |
| Allot | $101.99 million | 3.87 | $3.70 million | $0.22 | 36.36 |
Allot has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Clearfield. Clearfield is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Allot, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Clearfield and Allot’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Clearfield | -4.71% | 1.61% | 1.45% |
| Allot | 9.40% | 9.64% | 5.99% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
88.7% of Clearfield shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.5% of Allot shares are held by institutional investors. 17.8% of Clearfield shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Allot shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Allot beats Clearfield on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
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. It also provides CraftSmart FiberFirst pedestals, an access terminal that offers a cable management and mounting bracket kit to support the deployment of access terminals; YOURx, an access terminal that provides flexibility with cable mid-span and internal splicing options; and FieldShield, a fiber pathway and protection method for reducing the cost of broadband deployment. In addition, the company offers fiber assemblies; fiber optic and copper cables, microducts, microduct accessories, and tools; and installation and connection accessories for fiber optic networks. It serves community broadband customers, multiple system operators, large regional service providers, and wireline/wireless national telco carriers. The company was formerly known as APA Enterprises, Inc. and changed its name to Clearfield, Inc. in January 2008. Clearfield, Inc. was incorpoarted in 1979 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
About Allot
Allot Communications Ltd. is a provider of leading innovative network intelligence and security solutions for service providers worldwide, enhancing value to their customers. Their solutions are deployed globally for network and application analytics, traffic control and shaping, network-based security services, and more. Allot’s multi-service platforms are deployed by over 500 mobile, fixed and cloud service providers and over 1000 enterprises. Their industry leading network-based security as a service solution has achieved over 50% penetration with some service providers and is already used by over 20 million subscribers in Europe.
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