Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) CEO Jayshree Ullal Sells 588,000 Shares

Key Points

• Arista Networks CEO Jayshree Ullal sold a total of 588,000 shares on July 29, 2023, for a total value of $70,060,200, reducing her holdings by 8.78%.
• The company's recent stock performance shows a 52-week high of $133.57 and a low of $59.43, with a current price of $123.47.
• Arista Networks declared a stock buyback program allowing for the reacquisition of up to $1.5 billion in shares, suggesting that company leadership believes the stock is undervalued.

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 588,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $70,060,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,105,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $727,495,703.95. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Jayshree Ullal also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, July 30th, Jayshree Ullal sold 288,820 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.19, for a total transaction of $35,290,915.80.
• On Monday, July 28th, Jayshree Ullal sold 527,302 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.59, for a total transaction of $60,950,838.18.
• On Friday, July 25th, Jayshree Ullal sold 60,698 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.02, for a total transaction of $6,981,483.96.
• On Monday, June 30th, Jayshree Ullal sold 748,444 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.43, for a total transaction of $76,663,118.92.
• On Monday, June 30th, Jayshree Ullal sold 93,468 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.43, for a total transaction of $9,573,927.24.
• On Friday, June 27th, Jayshree Ullal sold 1,793 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.99, for a total transaction of $182,868.07.
• On Friday, June 27th, Jayshree Ullal sold 223 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.99, for a total transaction of $22,743.77.
• On Thursday, June 26th, Jayshree Ullal sold 104,707 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.03, for a total transaction of $10,683,255.21.
• On Thursday, June 26th, Jayshree Ullal sold 13,075 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.03, for a total transaction of $1,334,042.25.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

NYSE:ANET traded down $5.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $117.56. 11,553,581 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,253,870. Arista Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $59.43 and a one year high of $133.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.65 billion, a PE ratio of 49.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.37. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $101.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.98.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.72% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. Arista Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 381.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 415.7% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 108.0% in the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 337 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on ANET shares. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $89.00 price target (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, KGI Securities cut shares of Arista Networks to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.00.

Arista Networks Company Profile

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.