Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Now Covered by Analysts at Wolfe Research

Equities researchers at Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set an "outperform" rating on the technology company's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $140.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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 assumed coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.33.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Arista Networks stock opened at $101.51 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $93.40 and a 200-day moving average of $95.06. Arista Networks has a 52-week low of $59.43 and a 52-week high of $133.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.40.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2 billion during 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 30.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Arista Networks will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 748,444 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.43, for a total transaction of $76,663,118.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,072,900. This represents a 96.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total transaction of $794,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 65,784 shares in the company, valued at $6,536,298.24. This represents a 10.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,123,370 shares of company stock valued at $113,157,408. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Arista Networks by 179.7% in the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 358 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Arista Networks by 381.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Arista Networks by 415.7% in the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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