Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Trading 4.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)’s share price shot up 4.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $83.94 and last traded at $83.71. 2,421,876 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 10,831,388 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ANET. Citigroup raised their price objective on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.00.

Arista Networks Stock Up 4.4 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.73. The company has a market capitalization of $105.47 billion, a PE ratio of 37.64, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.08.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 29.91% and a net margin of 40.72%. Equities analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 138,351 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.88, for a total transaction of $12,988,391.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,697,137.08. This trade represents a 59.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,266.72. This trade represents a 86.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 491,001 shares of company stock valued at $49,112,111. Company insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ANET. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Arista Networks by 5.4% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,076 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,716,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Arista Networks by 2.0% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Arista Networks by 44.9% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,403 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,993,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Arista Networks in the third quarter valued at approximately $631,000. Finally, First Heartland Consultants Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the third quarter valued at approximately $228,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.