Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Given New $125.00 Price Target at Rosenblatt Securities

Key Points

• Rosenblatt Securities raised its price target for Arista Networks from $106.00 to $125.00, indicating a potential downside of 9.90% from the current price while maintaining a "neutral" rating.
• Arista Networks reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.73 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and reflecting a 30.4% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company has initiated a $1.50 billion stock repurchase program, signaling confidence in its stock's valuation following a significant recent stock price increase.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by analysts at Rosenblatt Securities from $106.00 to $125.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the technology company's stock. Rosenblatt Securities' price target points to a potential downside of 9.90% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. KGI Securities lowered shares of Arista Networks to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $135.79.

Arista Networks Trading Up 17.4%

ANET stock traded up $20.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $138.73. 25,962,847 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,700,207. Arista Networks has a 52-week low of $59.43 and a 52-week high of $139.53. The stock has a market cap of $174.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.72, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50-day moving average is $102.57 and its 200 day moving average is $94.98.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.08. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.72% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Arista Networks will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.19, for a total transaction of $3,335,700.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,442,801.44. The trade was a 69.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 880,180 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.79, for a total value of $109,837,662.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,944,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $741,802,299.95. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,443,742 shares of company stock worth $395,523,885 over the last three months. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DSG Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Arista Networks in the fourth quarter worth $5,984,000. Ibex Wealth Advisors increased its position in Arista Networks by 14.4% in the first quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 58,093 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,501,000 after buying an additional 7,329 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Arista Networks in the first quarter worth $629,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Arista Networks by 19.8% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 613,309 shares of the technology company's stock worth $47,519,000 after buying an additional 101,162 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Arista Networks by 94.8% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 650,011 shares of the technology company's stock worth $50,363,000 after buying an additional 316,309 shares during the period. 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.

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