Fred Alger Management LLC Has $4.64 Million Stock Holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 40.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,989 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,990 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings in Arista Networks were worth $4,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitlin John LLC boosted its stake in Arista Networks by 174.7% in the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 239 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 335.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 248 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arista Networks Trading Up 5.3%

Arista Networks stock traded up $4.92 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $97.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,088,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,062,522. The stock has a market cap of $122.13 billion, a PE ratio of 43.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.38. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.43 and a 52 week high of $133.58. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $79.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.25.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.72% and a return on equity of 29.91%. The firm's revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.07, for a total transaction of $7,205,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,168,748.32. This trade represents a 86.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 138,351 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.88, for a total value of $12,988,391.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,697,137.08. The trade was a 59.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 412,355 shares of company stock valued at $37,216,079. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on ANET. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $140.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. KGI Securities cut Arista Networks to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Arista Networks from $73.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Arista Networks from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.14.

Arista Networks 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.