Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading Up 1.9% – Here’s Why

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s stock price shot up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $115.10 and last traded at $114.73. 981,827 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 5,442,593 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ANET. StockNews.com cut Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $495.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $100.00 to $106.25 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Arista Networks from $97.50 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.42.

Arista Networks Stock Up 1.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $148.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.83, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.59.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.29% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 71,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.06, for a total value of $7,107,506.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 70,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,289.82. This trade represents a 50.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.47, for a total value of $9,477,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,537,266.72. This trade represents a 86.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 345,316 shares of company stock valued at $37,761,976. Insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 264 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Arista Networks by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 264 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 372 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

About Arista Networks

Arista Networks, Inc engages in the development, marketing, and sale of data-driven, client to cloud networking solutions for data center, campus, and routing environments in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. Its cloud networking solutions consist of Extensible Operating System (EOS), a publish-subscribe state-sharing networking operating system offered in combination with a set of network applications.