Piper Sandler Issues Positive Forecast for Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock Price

Key Points

• Piper Sandler raised the price target for Arista Networks from $89.00 to $143.00, suggesting a potential upside of 3.50% from the previous close, while maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock.
• Other analysts have varied price targets, with Evercore ISI setting $150.00 and Needham & Company increasing their target to $155.00, indicating strong investor confidence in the stock.
• Arista Networks recently reported strong quarterly earnings, with a net margin of 40.72% and a revenue increase of 30.4% year-over-year, outperforming analyst expectations.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Piper Sandler from $89.00 to $143.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the technology company's stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI set a $150.00 price target on Arista Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on Arista Networks in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.07.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ANET traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $137.49. 5,133,358 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,662,271. The company has a market cap of $172.67 billion, a PE ratio of 54.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.37. Arista Networks has a 1-year low of $59.43 and a 1-year high of $141.01. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $103.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.28.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.90% and a return on equity of 31.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Arista Networks will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arista Networks news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 26,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.19, for a total value of $2,890,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 582,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,757,056. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.01, for a total value of $936,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 57,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,761,305.84. This trade represents a 12.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,443,742 shares of company stock valued at $395,523,885 in the last three months. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. HighMark Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Arista Networks by 179.7% during the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 358 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted 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 acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Arista Networks by 415.7% during the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Arista Networks during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

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.